The Road
Chapter 1
Shade
I sit alone at a corner table against the far back wall of Fatz Tavern. I prefer it that way, and so does everyone else. I'm not the sort of woman anyone would describe as social.
I take a large draw from the tankard of mead in my hand and wince at the taste. I don’t like mead, or ale for that matter. Given the choice, I prefer a decent wine. Fatz Tavern cannot afford me that luxury, however, it doesn't draw the “wine” crowd.
Fatz Tavern is the meeting place for the worst of Serinadian’s ruffians and criminals. I take another drink from my tankard and sigh. I fit right in, with one difference. Many of Fatz’ regulars come into his tavern solely to seek trouble in the way of a brawl. Since it is commonplace at Fatz, one is rarely disappointed, except in the case of Nightshade Timmeraul.
Not one of the regulars will dare look my direction; they attach some value to their lives. This is a constant disappointment to me, my days of making trouble or picking fights in Serinadian were over long ago. Only the very uninformed or lost dare to test me now.
At one point, a few years back, I had even made a general announcement that I would not kill anyone, if I could just find a few men brave enough to show off their fighting prowess. The ploy hadn’t worked. The people of Serinadian are fat with comfort and deaf to the call of adventure, at least where I am concerned.
I am a mercenary and resigned myself long ago to being forced to find my fun elsewhere. So far, it has not been a problem. Each adventure fueled me emotionally and physically for the next.
A devilish smile crosses my face unnoticed. I take another drink and replace my tankard on the table with a thud. I raise my eyes from the tankard when I notice a shadow moving toward me. A short, plump, doughy-faced man approaches slowly, cautiously.
I smirk my amusement. The man coming toward me so tentatively probably outweighs me three times over.
“What is it, Fatz?” I ask coolly from beneath my green, hooded cowl.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, miss ah lady ah …”
“Just ‘Shade’ will do”, I help the stuttering man along.
“It’s just that a note has come for you, I wouldn’t have bothered you, but, you see, the man said it was important, and he gave me ten gold to deliver it.” He holds the note at arm’s length, never taking his eyes from his mottled brown shoes.
I reach out and grab the note from his hand and set it on the table in front of me. “Go away.” I mutter.
The overweight man is glad to oblige. While backing away, however, he dares to speak again, being a businessman, he has a responsibility to himself. “Are you in need of another drink?” he asks, clearly trembling.
“Why? Have you stocked anything drinkable lately?” I ask in my normal deadpan tone.
Fatz opens his mouth to protest, then thinks better of it and simply turns and waddles away.
I smile again beneath the protection of my cowl, and unfold the note.
MEET ME ON THE NORTHBOUND MERCHANT ROUTE NEAR SWALLOWS PEAK IN TWO DAYS.I HAVE AN OFFER YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY REFUSE.
-YOUR FUTURE EMPLOYER
I huff.
To make Swallows Peak in two days, I’d have to leave now. I don’t like being rushed.
My formidable reputation affords me the luxury of doing things at my own pace. In addition, anyone assuming I can’t afford to refuse a job is ill-informed at best, a Noble at worst. The truth being I am well taken care of, no matter what I do or don’t do. I have a large stash of funds saved up from past jobs. It is easy for me to save money; I am not one to squander gold on meaningless things. If I had the mind to, I could be living better than the King himself.
I do not want that.
I chose my current profession, not for the monetary gains, which are considerable, but because I truly love what I do. I love the fear I instill in people at the mere mention of my name. I love the screams of my victims echoing in my ears like sweet music. Most of all, I love the luxury of not caring about another living soul.
I care only for myself.
My well-known callousness and mercilessness are the things that make me unequaled in my field. I hold no compassion or prejudice for any other being. I have never met another soul who I considered to be deserving of life, human, dwarf, elf or otherwise.
Maybe a few, long ago and long dead. I shake my head to remove the thought from my mind. That was another lifetime.
I never fail to get my target.
whatever it takes.
I retrieve a match from a pouch at my belt, strike it on the table-top and set the note aflame. Standing, I drop the smoldering parchment to the table and walk out of Fatz tavern.
I walk slowly down the darkened streets, chuckling every time someone jumps out of my way. How boring Serinadian has become. I don’t even know why I come back here.
I glance up in time to see the large fortress-like castle up on the hill. My home until I reached sixteen years old, now it is just a painful reminder of that former life. A life I am constantly thankful died nearly a decade ago.
I cannot believe I was ever that person. I was forced to flee when my father, Lord Timmeraul and the rest of my family were massacred. The life I have now is far more fulfilling. What am I missing? Dances, dresses, and overbearing men?
With a final smug glance, I turn down a side street and enter a small apartment I use while in the city. The apartment is not my home either, my home is the road.
I quickly disable the traps and take a short survey of the room to ensure nobody has been in it while I was gone. Satisfied, I sit down on the only piece of furniture, a small feather-filled mattress bed. The bed is the only luxury I afford myself. everything else is just unnecessary baggage when I don’t stay in one place for very long.
I sigh again, “Now what?” I mutter aloud.
A casually discarded knapsack in the corner of the room as well as a note answer my question for me.
The road.
I stand, walk over to the knapsack, and sling it over one shoulder. Without a backward glance, I leave the apartment, set my traps back up to prevent entrance, and head back down the alley. I stop quickly at the horse border to retrieve my horse and am out of Serinadian headed towards Shallows Peak.
A quick look at the sun determines I have a few hours left before sunset, so I urge my horse into a run to put as much distance as possible between myself and the city in which I grew up.
Things are getting far too dull in Serinadian for my taste, and I fear that if I allow laziness to sink in, I might lose my edge. An edge required for survival, the only thing that matters.
I enjoy pushing my luck and indulging my curiosities. The note I received at the tavern was little more than an excuse to partake in both.
Truth is, I don’t need to work for money anymore. I do it for the pure thrill of the chase, getting the kill is a bonus. If for no other reason, I must keep working to keep my reputation alive. Obtaining and keeping a reputation such as the one I possess is, after all, difficult work. Especially for a woman, and a human on top.
When I started training by body and mind as a warrior, I discovered that I possess some talents not normal to my race. The ability to jump high and climb buildings or trees with ease. These added abilities have given me an edge above others of my race, even above some races.
I’ve found that, in the past, gifts in the form of secrets were much more valuable than money anyway.
My most prized possession, however, is the sword, Hummer, now resting comfortably at my side. An ironic circumstance, really, for by doing something completely out of character for me, saving a life, I received an item that is as important to me as my own arm.
The life in question was that of a wizard being held by frost giants. I had been traveling through the Northern regions trying to locate a barbarian deserter when I came upon the scene. I hold no love for mages, in fact, I loathe them. I have to admit, however, that a thankful wizard is capable of the highest compensations.
The wizard was bound and gagged and surrounded by five of the stupid beasts, a simple situation to remedy for me. I fought my way into the camp and easily managed to ungag the wizard. When the mage was able to call upon his abilities, escape was easily achieved.
A long sword enchanted with warning abilities to its owner was awarded to me by that thankful wizard. The sword had returned the favor for the wizard’s life by saving my own many times.
Anyone with intentions of separating me from my best friend are never allowed the chance at a repeat performance.
I travel easily through the forests surrounding Serinadian armed with familiarity. I lived out here for several years before returning to Serinadian.
The forest is both a comfort and a disappointment to me. I crave chaos. I can take only so many uneventful days, and I have already had my share in the recent weeks I’d spent in Serinadian. I am rarely disappointed by uneventfulness while on the road.
I feel more alive with each passing hour as I continue forward into the unknown. A slow smile forming on my face as I look forward to the upcoming chase and, of course, the battles. Many a good man as well as some bad, have fallen to Hummer. I feel, with certainty, many more will follow.
I am a woman determined to get my share of the glory if not honor. After spending many years training myself mentally and physically for the task of killing others for profit, honor rarely fits into the scheme of things.
The sun is quickly descending, so I determine I should camp for the night. A scant survey provides a suitable spot. I tie my horse to a nearby tree, drop my sack to the ground and go in search of firewood.
As tedious and energy draining a chore as ever there was.
When I return a short time later, I am met with two curious surprises. The rope that had once secured my horse now hung uselessly from the tree, and next to a large pile of firewood is a freshly killed deer. A single arrow to the neck.
I immediately drop the meager supply of wood I managed to gather on my own and retrieve a dagger from my belt. Using the blade as a guide before me, I spin in slow circles investigating the immediate area.
After completing a few circles, I determine that whoever had been here is now long gone, and trusting in the silence of Hummer, means me no real harm anyway.
I shrug and replace the dagger.
“So, it would seem,” I utter quietly, “that I have a guardian angel of sorts.” With a glance over to the rope where my horse had been, I add, “who has a peculiar love for mischief-making.”
I smile, start a fire, and eat well before laying out a bedroll and lying down to sleep, always with my hand firmly on the hilt of my enchanted sword.
Unknown
I left the deer, not to be helpful, but to keep her guessing.
This is what I tell myself.
I watch her sleep, hand on the hilt of her sword. She is stunning.
Long auburn hair hangs down in soft curls across her face. The well-defined muscles in her arms flex even in sleep. There’s a thin scar down her face, it should detract from her beauty, but, oddly, it adds to it.
I’m a creeper.
This is what she’d made me, from the first moment I saw her.
This was not supposed to happen.
I know why Xavial wants her. I know her reputation, everyone does. I was, after all, betrothed to her once. A bargain made when we were children. I wonder if she was ever told. Her father broke the pact. We were never told why. I was relieved. I am not the first born .I was meant to choose for myself. Choose my own life, and I have.
But now.
Now, I want it all, I want her.
I drop my head into my hands with a groan. Now, it’s too late. Now, things are different.
I’m different.
She’s different.
I didn’t know her before, never saw her. Never knew what I’d be missing out on.
Now, I know.
But we aren’t the same people. Fate took a turn for us both.
Now.
Impossible.
I would keep my distance.
Watching.
Learning.
This is what I tell myself.
Now, I can’t have her.
Now, I must kill her.
