Into the Wastelands: Book Four of the Restoration Series (12 page)

Chapter
11

Heather looked out over the bow of the ship as it cut through the waves of
Emerald
Lake
. For all their worry about having to fight the sailors, things had gone smoothly.

From
Alandell
Lake
, they sailed north in the
Adelion
River
until they reached
Victory
Lake
. They spent one day docked at a small seaport at the entrance to the lake and Kappie had
done
his best bit of bartering. They sailed from the port with several casks of salted beef and bushels of dried fruits. She wasn’t sure how much of a market there was for these goods up north, but she was extremely pleased to have them along.
In addition to the foodstuffs, he also traded for pots, knives, clothes, and especially boots.

With favorable winds at their backs, they seemed to race across
Victory
Lake
. In only three days they traversed its entire length and entered the
Mellis
River
. This part of the trip was slower and trickier. The river here was
shallower
and they had to go slower and use the oars more often. The river wasn’t normally able to handle a ship like
The Willing Woman
, but melting snows in the mountains had raised the water lever considerably.

Navigating in the river required the use of the oars, and with the exception of the women, everyone took a turn. Well, Dagan was not required to. Not because he was a sorcerer, but because of his age. Agminion took his turns without a word of complaint.

After travelling northeast for several days, the river took a sharp turn to the north. The surrounding country got wilder and fewer people and settlements were seen. After only spending three days on
Victory
Lake
, it took them two and a half weeks to travel the
Mellis
River
. During those weeks, the trip turned from relaxing to monotonous and boring. Just when she thought she might go mad, the
ship
emerge
d
from the river and slid into
Emerald
Lake
.

There was a settlement on the southernmost part of the lake, but they passed it by and sailed north. This lake was the most remote
part of their journey
and after that first
settlement;
they saw no more until they reached the northern tip of the lake.

The shore was heavily forested, and the small village blended in well with the trees. Every building was made of logs and even the
village
walls consisted
of
rough cut trees. The thoroughfares were muddy, owing to the heavy rains of the area.
It was nearly sundown as they neared the village and smoke rolled from every chimney.

There were only two small docks for boats, and
The Willing Woman
was almost too big to fit
.
The sailors skillfully guided the ship in and soon had her tied up.

Ignoring the lateness of the day, every inhabitant for miles
hurried to the docks to greet the newcomer
. Heather got the feeling that ships didn’t bother coming here often.

Kappie was all smiles as he leaned against the railing with his arms outstre
tched. “My friends. T
hank you for such a warm welcome,” he shouted over the
hubbub of the assembled throngs, “b
ut I think it’s too late to trade today.” This caused some good natured booing from the crowd, but that only made Kappie’s smile broaden. “Now. Now. We’ll still be here in the morning and we’ll be most eager to trade.
”

There was some grumbling but not much and the crowd gradually dispersed.

Heather turned and located Aaron, Atock, and Enton. They were standing along the railing watching the townsfolk
leaving
. She crossed the short distance and joined them. “I think we should find the town’s pub.”

All three men looked up with joy on their faces and Heather sighed deeply.
Men!
“I don’t want you getting drunk, but some information on what we can expect to the north would be nice.”

The grins slipped momentarily, but they came back fast enough and that caused Heather to frown. “I don’t care if you indulge
some;
just keep your wits about you.”

“Of course,” Atock answered, “and we’ll be sure to find out what awaits us to the north.”

“Probably should also ask about the east and west, as well,” Aaron added after a moment. All eyes shifted to him and he shrugged. “If anybody is trying to follow us, might as well make it as difficult as possible.”

Heather grimaced. Aaron was correct of course. “You’re right. I should have thought of that.” She shook her head. She didn’t even have exhaustion to blame it on. The trip had been relaxing and had allowed them time to rest and heal.

She
started to leave, but stopped and turned back. She waggled
her finger at the three men, “N
o fighting.” She almost laughed at the three innocent and hurt looks that came across the Guardians’ faces.

The sun was just setting as the three Guardians found the small pub. Like every other building in the small town, it was made from logs and was a single story building. Three chimneys rose from different corners of the structure and smoke poured forth from each of them. It wasn’t cold, but the pub also served food and it was dinner time.

A long narrow porch ran along the front of the building and several tables and chairs were scattered around. Enton had to stoop to get in through the low door and the inside was dark and smoky.

At their entrance, the familiar sounds of the pub quieted momentarily and the only thing they could hear was the crackling of the fire
s
. After just a moment, there was a cheer and several rough looking local women came over to lead the three newcomers to a table.

The inn was small to their standards, but it still was one of the largest buildings in the town. Most of the entire building was one large open room. The floor was covered in tables and chairs. Here and there, stout logs had been used as pillars to support the ro
of. On the far side of the room
was a long bar. Numerous casks and bottles were lined up behind the bar against the wall. There appeared to be a smaller room, for private parties, just off to the right of the entrance. The kitchen and storerooms were also to the right, just beyond the private dining room.

The tavern owner was an older man, who was starting to get fat around the middle. He hurried over and introduced himself as William and then hurried away to get them their first round of drinks, on him as it turned out.

“Why would he give us our drinks for free?” Enton asked, surprised.

“Probably
because
half the town followed us in,” Atock answered. He pointed over his shoulder and Enton noticed the people still flooding in through the door. “We’re newcomers and they probably don’t see many.”

William came back carrying a tray with three ales. He was only there a moment and then he was gone again, this time to get the men something to eat.

Atock watched him leave. There was something about this William. He had the look of a man who could handle himself. Atock shrugged. Undoubtedly, the owner doubled as the
doorman
as well
.
Looking around at the rough nature of the crowd, he could easily imagine that this place saw a fair number of fights and brawls.

Another fat old man stopped in front of their table, but this one didn’t look dangerous in the least. He just looked fat and soft. “Greetings. My name is
Eugene
, and I’m the mayor of
Emtown.”
There was a slight slur to his words and it made it more difficult to understand him.

The Mayor
was well past his prime and his hair was white, at least the little bits
of hair
that still remained around his ears.
There were
several days of beard growing on his face and his grey shirt was covered with several food stains. His effect was not overly positive.

Enton opened his mouth to speak and the Gods only knew what he was about to say, but luckily Aaron spoke first. “Mayor Eugene, let me be the first to thank you for your town’s hospitality. The town and the area are both very beautiful and rustic.”

The old Mayor swelled with pride, which only emphasized the man’s soiled clothing. “Not at all. We so seldom have guests and the whole town is excited about the trade goods you have in that ship of yours. I can only imagine that the docks will be swamped with trading tomorrow.” He stopped speaking and regarded Aaron, who he had apparently picked out as the leader.

Aaron was at a little bit of a loss as
to
what to say. The Mayor seemed to be waiting for something, but Aaron didn’t have the first clue as to what it might be. He might not know what the Mayor wanted to hear, but he did know how to be courteous. “Won’t you join us?
My name is Aaron by the way.
”

The smile slipped a little from
Eugene
’s face, but just for a moment. He turned to look for a chair, but there wasn’t any available to be found.

“Here
,” Atock said, standing, “p
lease take mine.” He didn’t wait for an answer but moved off into the crowd, heading to the long bar on the far side of the room.

Eugene
sat down on the old chair and it creaked ominously. His eyes sought out Aaron and he regarded the Guardian without speaking.

Feeling that the Mayor was still waiting on something, Aaron picked up his ale and drank heartily. It was really a stalling tactic, but with surprise he realized that the ale was quite good, much better than he had anticipated.

Eugene
leaned in close and spoke softly. “I run the small general store here and I was hoping that I might get special considerations on the trade goods.”

Setting his face down, Aaron kept his face neutral. At least he knew what the old man wanted. “Well, I’m not the Captain….”

“Oh
,
of course not,”
Eugene
said quickly, interrupting Aaron. “But I’m sure you could put in a good word for me with your boss.”

Aaron smiled, “I’m not a sailor. I’m a passenger.”

Eugene
blinked and pulled his hand away. “A passenger?” he repeated.

Nodding, Aaron leaned in close and spoke quietly. He was quite sure that whatever he told this man would be all over town by morning, but this was a game and he had a part to play. “Yes. I work for Lord Montgomery,” he paused briefly. “Excuse me, but you won’t repeat this, will you?”
He did his best to look worried, but it was all an act. As far as he knew, there wasn’t any such Lord Montgomery and Aaron really didn’t care if there was one.

A smile blossomed on
Eugene
’s face and he shook his head v
igorously. “Wouldn’t think of repeating it
.”

“Good,” Aaron said, looking relieved and smiling. “As I was saying, I work for Lord Montgomery. He’s a minor noble from
Southern Aramonia
and he
fancies himself a hunter. He has
, in fact, hunted most of the wildlife around
Alandell
Lake
, but he is growing bored and is looking for a challenge.”

“A challenge, you say,”
Eugene
said slowly. The smile was long gone from his face and now he just look
ed
confused.

“Yes,” Aaron answered nodding. “He’s looking for something different, something dangerous.”

Eugene
shook his head, “
S
o why are you here?”

Aaron glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening. He really didn’t care if anyone heard or not. “I’m scouting the area, checking to see if there might be some hunting near here that might interest my Lord.”

The words finally registered and
Eugene
’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. “You mean that a lord might be coming here?” In his surprise,
Eugene
spoke quite a bit louder than he meant to, and several heads turned in their direction.

Aaron didn’t care but he made a show of waving
Eugene
down. “Not so loud. Remember you said you would keep this to yourself.”

Eugene
nodded and looked around sheepishly. “Sorry. I just never thought that we might entertain a lord.
” He brightened suddenly, “S
ay, he’ll need to buy a bunch of things and he’ll probably have a whole bunch of retainers.”

Nodding, Aaron decided it was time to throw ice water on the Mayor’s dreams of riches. “If he decides to come here, that is.”