 I not woken up at all.
There were no open windows in the room and so I had no sense of what time it was. Regardless, it felt like an ungodly hour. While rubbing the dirt from my eyes, my hands unconsciously sought out the purse on my belt. Though no great fortune, the coin represented substantial wealth relative to the poor farmers that frequented the establishment where I’d found respite. My crowns remained secure.
Too honest, these heartlanders. They wouldn’t last a day in my homeland. Perhaps my perception had just been colored by my own fears. After all, no one is more afraid of being robbed than a thief. I moaned as my body protested against even the slightest movement and felt my rough voice grind against the back of my throat.
A man was arguing with his son by the bar. The owner, judging by his greasy apron and great beer gut, vigorously shook his head.
”I won’t let you do it. Your mother and I need you here son.” He said. If he had told me his name the previous day it must have fallen out of my head during the night. I wiped the drool from my chin and rested my head against my palm, pretending not to be listening in from across the room.
”It’s not your decision father. The Duke has called on me to fight!” The son seemed unnaturally proud of what basically amounted to a standard conscription. The boy had the same beady eyes and red-brown hair as his father but lacked the upturned moustache of the older man.
In fact, hair hadn’t even begun to grow on the boy’s upper lip. He was big though and looked strong, which was probably why he’d been chosen. I guessed he’d barely entered his teens. ”If I can help stop that murderer from taking the throne then I want to do it!”
The old man put his arm around his son’s shoulders. He was trying hard to keep his voice steady. ”I know you do son. But you’re still so young.” He sighed deeply. ”Maybe there won’t be a war.” The old man added the last part wistfully.
It was all rather ironic. I’d gone to Estoria to find peace and quiet, whiling away my days in the comfortable numbness of alcoholinduced apathy. A year later there was a civil war brewing and I was on my way as far from the country as I could get. I was hoping to catch a ship to Alvarre from Ragamunde. The only thing standing in my way was Valdemar’s pass, beyond that I’d be free as a bird. But listening to these two, it sounded like the war was already a lot closer than I would have liked.
I scratched the back of my head and yawned before I rose. The chair creaked as I stood and they turned their heads in my direction.
”Mornin’ sir.” The boy said. Shaking off his father’s arm, suddenly embarrassed in the company of a stranger.
”You sleep well?” His father asked.
I crossed the room on unsteady legs. I admit that I was still a bit drunk and had to lean one hand against the sturdy oak table. ”I think I slept as well as can be expected, considering what I paid for it.” My voice was still coarse but I smiled to show my appreciation.
They gave me a blank look.
”Well, if you’re going to stay any more nights you might want to spend a few coppers for a room instead.” The old man moved behind the bar. ”Unless you’re trying to drink the town dry that is.”
I noticed the boy curiously eyeing my gear while his father spoke. ”Maybe I could start with the water then?” I asked, rubbing my sore throat. ”And see how far I get.”
He smiled and poured me a mug from a barrel underneath the counter. ”So stranger, what do you think about the war?”
I eagerly drained the mug, feeling the lukewarm water restoring some semblance of normality to my voice. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before answering.
”What I think is that it’s time to get out of Estoria for a while.”
The old man pensively scratched his chin.
”That might prove difficult. The Duke reopened the old castle in the pass and then closed the gates. I’ve heard they’re not letting anyone through.”
I smiled. ”I don’t think it’ll be so impossible to get to the other side. After all, I’m leaving the country, not entering it.”
”You think it’ll be that bad then?” He stole a glance at his son. ”Perhaps…”
”You don’t have a weapon.” The boy interrupted. We looked at him. ”You have all this stuff but no weapon, how come?”
I gave the boy a smile. One that I believed looked kind and patronising in equal measure. ”I find that people are a lot less likely to hurt an unarmed man.”
”But if you get robbed on the road they can just take your money can’t they?”
I laughed, a bit too condescendingly. ”If ’they’ want my money a rusty sword’s not going to stop anyone. Robbers rarely work alone you know, and an armed man looks like he has more to protect.”
The old man laughed nervously. ”Don’t bother the customer son…”
The kid still didn’t seem able to wrap his head around the idea.
”What if someone tries to hurt you then? Or your family?”
”I try my best to avoid people like that. And if I can’t… Then I can always use these.” I knocked my knuckles against each other. ”That way I won’t be burdened with another person’s death on my conscience.”
The boy looked at me with big eyes. ”You’re weird.” He said. ”Weird but clever. Who do you think is going to win the war? The Prince or the Duke?”
”It doesn’t matter. Whatever happens everyone else loses.”
I turned on my heels and left while taking a last look at the old inn. Well, it was called an inn, but it was more of a tavern with a room or two for rent. The meaningless old hunting trophies and empty chairs, the big old tables were scratched by knives, mugs and hands decades old. The whole place whispered to me about times past, both good and bad. I hoped the old man and his wife would be alright without their son. I reminded myself that if I’d ever come through Wyldhofen again I’d take a look. I instinctively tapped the prayer to Callis carved above the door as I stepped out of The Fortunate Hunt. The devotion to the god of travellers was covered in greasy dust that stuck to my fingers.
The light outside was blinding. I quickly covered my eyes against the noon sun as I stumbled out on the dirt road. Perhaps it was the sudden shift in the light or perhaps it was because my head was still throbbing that I failed to notice the approaching danger.
As I rounded the first corner I suddenly found myself faced with a dozen soldiers. They wore thick chainmails under their green tabards and conical metal helmets. Each one had a pike and a sword. These were Duke Ganelon’s men, and they were rounding up conscripts. I turned as slowly as I could manage and started to walk down the road I came from.
”You there!” A rough voice called after me. ”Stop!”
I cursed silently under my breath. If I was going to run, it would have to be now. Then I heard a horse neighing nearby. Since Wyldhofen was surrounded by open fields it would likely only be a matter of moments before they caught me. I turned around and prepared myself to try and talk my way out.
Their commanding officer approached me, a potbellied man with greasy hair and a short nose that reminded me of a snout.
”Who are you? Do you live here?” He demanded. His tone was a clear indication that he was used to being answered immediately.
”No, sir. My name is Felix, I am just a traveller passing through on my way to the pass.”
The officer grunted. He was sweating a little in his thick armor and probably eager to be done with his task, which boded ill for me.
”The pass is closed. Why did you turn just now? You trying to hide something?” My head was still pounding, making it hard to think so I said the first thing I could think of.
”No, I just realised that I forgot to thank my host for his hospitality and the water he gave me.”
It was not entirely a lie yet the officer grimaced like he was sucking on a lemon.
”You’re telling me, that a man dressed in black, with tools and a dozen pockets, who sticks out like a sore thumb is without any evil intent whatsoever?”
I tried my best to look innocent. ”I sweep chimneys for a living, amongst other things. Black covers the soot.” I realised as soon as I said it how weak of a lie it was.
”Do you think I’m an idiot?” The man was starting to turn a color in line with his upturned nose.
”I think that you are precisely as intelligent as you think that I think that you are.” I answered while putting on a straight face and trying my damnedest not to laugh. He blinked