Death Or Fortune (3 page)

     My first
days in Arcadia are still hard for me to remember.  Things happened so
fast and before I could wash the road dust out of my hair it seemed I was back
on it again.  I came to town with a plan.  Offer my sword to the highest
bidder and make a name for myself.  I quickly found out that I wasn't the
only one looking to do just that.  Mercenary companies were picking up men
left and right.  There was talk of war in the north countries and others
were going to work for different lords to protect land and home.  While I
had an offer or two, I didn’t come all that way just to march off again, not
for what they were going to pay me.  Then at the end of my first day in
town, I was approached by a strange pair of men.  It immediately made me
think of something I had seen at home; a man in black robes and a man in white
robes.

     I had just
settled down to the first hot meal I had since leaving John and Marta
behind.  The pair sat down at my table and looked at me.  Had I not
been in such a good mood, things may have gone differently.  Hans of North
Hembers, cleric of Solarth was the first to speak to me.  ‘
Please
pardon us but we were hoping to talk to you if you do not mind.’
  The
black robed man had a face of stone, no expression at all other than disinterest. 
He reminded me of my father at first, I should have listened to that
feeling.  Yet I ignored it and told the man in white to continue.  ‘
My
name is Hans, this is Hetaron.  I saw you interviewing with some of the
mercenary companies, will you be leaving soon or are you staying in town?’
 
When I told him I had no plans on leaving a small smile broke out on the
clerics face. 

     ‘I have
only arrived here in Arcadia a week ago so you will have to forgive me if I am
going about this the wrong way.  I have never been on this end of things
before.  I am a priest of Solarth; a man from the Arcadian Royal Guard
came to our temple yesterday.  He was seeking any information we could
lend on a suspected cult.  There were bodies found outside of the city and
there was something strange about them.  My Bishop volunteered me to
investigate even though I know very little of the dark arts, he told me that it
would do me well to explore the city a bit.  I tried to protest to him,
that I was new to the order and not qualified to investigate something like
this he just waved his hands at me and told me I was doing it.  He then
sent me to a wizard by the name of Senjin, stating that if anyone in the city
had knowledge of any strange or ancient cults, it would be him.’
 

     ‘Senjin
was quite amused with me.’
The priest continued. 
‘He told me he
was far too old and far too busy to waste his time with something as trivial as
this.  Yet he felt the need to oblige us and he introduced me to Hetaron,
his apprentice.’ 
I looked at the man in black again and he only
nodded at me. 
’We have to go meet with a Captain Turk in the morning;
he will give us any information we need on where to begin.  I was told
that we would be paid very well for this and I was hoping that you would join
us.  Just in case we need someone that can handle a sword, you can handle
that blade I assume?’ 
I ignored the question and told Hans I would be
happy to join them.  They were staying in the city and they were being
well paid by important people, it was everything I could have hoped for. 
I told them to come find me in the morning and I would go with them to meet
this Captain Turk.  Little did I know that there was another set of ears
in the room, who also liked the sound of what Hans had to say.

     I was
awake and ready to go before the dawn.  I put on my best clothes, shined
my boots and had a good breakfast.  I then put on my armor and sat down to
wait for the priest to arrive in the common room of the inn I was staying
at.  I thought I was the only person in the room, yet there was another,
who was also quiet eager to begin the day.  Had I not spent so much time
fussing with my hat to make sure it was sitting on my head just right, I might
have noticed I was being watched.  Not long after the sun light started to
pour through the windows of the common room, Hans of North Hembers walked in
the door.  He told me Hetaron was waiting outside.  As we left the
inn, I never noticed the third set of footsteps walking out the door.

     It took us
more than an hour to walk to the Lords District where we were supposed to meet
with Captain Turk.  I was so lost in thought over the gold we were about
to earn, I was oblivious to everything around me.  I honestly couldn't
believe it was going to be this easy.  Today I can’t believe how stupid I
was or that my hat still fit on my fat, swollen head.  The three of us met
with Captain Turk for a whole two minutes.  Captain of the Arcadian Royal
Guard, the safety of the King and the thirty Arcadian Lords rested on his
shoulders.  He was only involved for one reason.  Of the four bodies
found outside the city, one of them was a second cousin to a Lord Drake. 
Who took that as a threat to him and demanded Turk look into the crime. 
He explained this to us very clearly and then told us he was not to see us
again unless we found something new.  Otherwise we were to deal with
Captain Nikle of the City Watch, who was supposed to give us everything that we
needed to know.

     Another
hour of walking later we found ourselves in front of Captain Nikle.  He
took a good long look at us and shook his head.  He then unrolled a large
map and laid it out on his desk.  It was the first time I had seen a map
of the capital city, I was impressed.  ‘
We have no reason to believe
this so called cult is hiding in the city.  I don’t even think it is a
cult but Turk isn’t so sure.  As things stand today, he has more pull than
I do so I have to dance to his tune, today.  The bodies were found here,
just north of the city.  Each man was bound and gagged.  They also
had letters carved into their foreheads.  The letters are not important
but I was told to inform you that the letters were M, O, S, and A.  Turk
wants you to search the area, where the bodies were found.  See if you can
find anything else.  There are also the ruins of an old military fort near
there.  That area is off limits, it isn’t safe.’
  That is when I
heard Pare’s high pitched voice for the first time.

    
‘Hey, I know where that is.  I passed by that on my way to town. 
We can be there in no time!’
  Hans, Hetaron and I all turned at once
to see the little halfling standing at the corner of Captain Nikles desk. 
Pare the halfling had a sly smile on his face and a slight twinkle of mischief
in his eyes.  Over the years, Pare has at times been a pain to deal with
but I will say this.  Never have I met a more loyal companion.  He is
my best friend in this entire world and I can honestly say the only person who
cares for him more than I do is my wife.  Not that I knew that when I was standing
there seeing him for the first time.  The three of us believed that he was
there at the request of Nikle, where Nikle assume he was with us.  So the
three of us stood there silent and when it was clear we were dismissed the four
of us filed out of his office. 

     Had the
four of us been a newly formed blade you would have melted us down and started
anew. You would have never seen just what we were able to do.  For all of
our faults as a collective we four together were unbreakable.  Each one of
us holding up the other.  From that first day till the day Hetaron left us
we were a force for good and for justice.  We were never perfect and I
still have blood on my hands that will not wash off.  We made mistakes but
we were young.  Young enough to live through the mistakes and I hope learn
from them.  I often wish I could see the four of us standing there again
in front of Captain Nikle before we started down this road.  I wonder if I
would have given us the chance that he and Captain Turk did. Granted, today I
know Nikle just wanted to get us killed. Would I have seen the fire in my eyes?
Would I have seen the power Hetaron would gain? Would I have seen the
wonderment in the eyes of Pare? Would Hans inspire me then as he does now
today?
     I only know this.  On that day with my new
friends by my side I would face whatever fate tossed our way. For I had two
paths in front of me, I feared neither. I would have death or I would have
fortune waiting for me.

     Just
before being pushed out of Captain Nikles office, I made the mistake of asking
about our payment.  I was promptly and loudly told that
‘the city guard
doesn’t pay to send people on a wild goose chase and that if we were getting
paid at all it was going to come from the budget of the Royal Guard.’
 
Nikle made it very clear to us that while he had to deal with us: we were all
working for Captain Turk.  Standing in the street outside of his office, I
started to wonder what we were going to do next.  It was then that Hetaron
decided to speak. 
‘I will need supplies; we will all need supplies if
we are going to search the ruins he told us of.’ 
I looked at the
wizard and asked him what he meant. 
‘If there is some kind of cult at
work here, they will be there.  It is a large hidden area and off limits
to anyone other than the city guard.  I will return to your inn in three
hours’ time Kromwell, we will all meet there.’
  With that Hetaron
turned and left, leaving me with Hans and Pare. 

     I turned
and looked at the little Halfling who in turn was looking up at me.  He
was dressed in a dingy pair of pants and a shirt that was nearly worn
through.  Yet he still had a smile on his face as if he had not a single
care in the world.  He stuck his hand out to me and said ‘
Hello, my
name is Pare, very pleased to meet you.’ 
I was reluctant to shake his
little hand but in the end I couldn’t help myself.  His little blue eyes
reminded me of the ocean the first time I saw it.  He then turned to Hans
and repeated the same line again, holding his hand out once more.  Hans
just smiled at him and said
‘I think not little thief, I need what little
coin I have.  Why don’t you tell us about this fort while we walk back to
Captain Turk.  As Hetaron said, we need supplies and I need coin to pay
for them.’ 

    
Pare
was more than happy to tell us the story.  It was true; he had passed by
the ruins on his way to town.  The tallest standing wall was no more than
three feet high.  Yet he found something wonderful, a set of stairs that
seemed to be very well hidden that lead underground.  At the bottom of the
stairs stood a large set of doors, closed with a nice new lock.  He said
he could have opened the door but didn’t want to risk going in there
alone.  It was then that Pare told us that he had been following us all
day.  I looked at Hans who could only shrug at me and said something about
Solarth having a sense of humor.
     Pare later told me that he had been following me
around for the better part of two days.  He said I had that look about me.
 He said he knew that I was one to watch.  While I had known folks
like him my entire life, what he said had given me a slight chill.  That
being said, in all the years I have known him, he has never once taken anything
from me.  Not so much as a single coin.  Anything he needed or asked
for, I was glad to give. 

     When we
returned to the office of Captain Turk, it was clear he had not been expecting
us.  I let Hans speak first, thinking that if a priest was asking him for
gold it would go over better.  When we told him what Nikle had to say
about our payment he could only shake his head.  He told us that he would
pay us one thousand gold pieces if we found evidence that would lead to the
arrest of the person or people that killed those four, honestly it was a fair
offer.  Three men who were clearly inexperienced and very well may have
been running off to meet their end.  He knew this and it might be why he
didn’t even so much as flinch when I let my greed get the best of me. 

     I told
Turk that we wanted a thousand each, half now and half when the job was
done.  He looked at me and asked why we would need so much up front. 
‘How can I trust you won’t just walk away with my money, never to be seen
again.’ 
I told him that we would need supplies.  That Hetaron
would need the money to fuel his magic, not that I know how much the souls of
children cost.  That Hans would need to buy supplies to help keep us all
alive.  In the end he agreed to give us two thousand in total, with half
of it up front.  He gave us four sacks of coins, I gave Hetarons share to
Hans as I did not think it would be safe with myself or Pare.  We returned
to the inn just in time to see Hetaron arrive on his mount.  We left the
city not long after that. 

     I walked
my horse while Pare rode. He did not have a mount of his own and in truth I was
in no hurry to find these ruins or any possible cultist that might be
inside.  Truth being told, while I was no longer alone I still wasn't sure
if I was ready to live my life this way. Had I bitten off more than I could
chew? Could I trust my companions? Today I know the answer to those questions.
At that time though, being lost in my own doubts was better than listening to
Pare's endless prattle.
     Since we set out he had not stopped talking for more
than ten seconds. Everything he saw fell under two headings. It was wonderful
or horrible.  Everything he saw, tasted or experienced was labeled as one
or the other.  There was nothing in between with him.  As we moved
farther away from town he got louder.  I kept looking up at him, expecting
to see him turning blue because he had been talking so long that he had
forgotten to breath.

     As Pare
led us farther away from known roads I had started to wonder if we had made a
mistake in following the thief. I took a look to the others faces, it would
seem I was alone in my worries. I was moving along, gripping the pommel of my
sword so tightly that later when I tried to let go my hand would not open. I
started to think that this halfling was leading us into a trap. Images of what
happened to me over a year before kept coming back. Was this halfling working
for those same men; men who wanted revenge on me for killing their friend.
 In the end he did what he said he would do.  Lead us to a hole in
the ground.

     While Hans
and Hetaron secured the horses Pare took me to the entrance. From ten feet away
you would pass by the hole and never know that it was there.  Lose earth
and weeds covered an old rough set of stairs. No more than fifteen feet down
was an old door.  Pare took me by the hand and pulled me down the stairs.
 He showed me the old door, ancient even with a new handle and lock. Said
he wanted to show me that there were people here, said he wanted to show me how
to get in.  He even showed me how he picked the lock, wanted me to see how
easy it was.  All the while he never shut up.

     It wasn't
long before the door was open and the four of us stood there in the rough cave.
 Two small branches on each side and twenty feet in front of us stood
another door.  We began to explore the area to the left and found it
empty.  The area to the right however was not. On this day we had begun
our adventures together.  The four of us, stronger together than apart,
ready for anything. We couldn't see much in the dim light but I knew something
was in there and coming towards us. Each moment it was moving faster. I pulled
out my sword and stood at the ready. All the way back to town that evening
Pare's words kept coming back to me.
     "Oh how wonderful, a molithin."