The Unknown Man: Book 1 in The Keepers of the Orbs Series (17 page)

Jaeden led the group with Liniana as they crested a small hill. The day had reached mid-afternoon and the sun's long streaks of heat made sweat trickle down all of their foreheads. They came to the top of the hill and spotted several small homes ahead of them in the distance. This could only mean they approached Riverfell. The people they encountered seemed friendly; smiling and waving when they rode past. The building styles this far south was very different from the others they had come across. Some of the homes were built right into the hillside. From the rear, they looked like a hill, with a few windows scattered throughout. From the front, you could see a more modern structure. They continued until they reached the actual city itself.

They rode into Riverfell and people were still friendly, but a little more wary seeing five scruffy-looking men and one travel worn woman ride in on horseback. Matt pointed toward the inn and Tirene took the lead, riding in its direction. Tirene dismounted and handed over the reins to a groom. He inquired as to where they could find the magistrate. He looked at the rest of his party and said, “You all stay here. I’ll be right back.” Liniana nodded her agreement.

He walked down the hard-packed dirt street and rounded a corner where he spotted two older men. One sat with a straw hat on his head and a long, gray, wispy mustache surrounding his mouth. The other leaned against the wall of the building, arms crossed. This one had dark hair and frowned when he saw Tirene, wrinkling his forehead and staring over his glasses.

Tirene walked up to the pair and smiled. “Good afternoon.” He nodded at them both. “I’m looking for the magistrate. I came across thieves who robbed a merchant and left him for dead.”

The old man sitting in the chair stopped him. “I’m the law in Riverfell.” He stood up. “You can call me Rawlin. Tell me more about these thieves.” He spit a tar black fluid onto the street while he continued to chew on black tobacco leaves.

Tirene motioned for Rawlin to follow him, leading him back to the inn while the other old man joined them as well. “You might recognize them. They were last here a couple of weeks ago.”

Rawlin chuckled when he saw the men bound on the horses. “I should’ve guessed it would be these dregs of the earth. Left a merchant for dead, you say?”

Tirene turned and looked at Rawlin. “Aye. A merchant left Riverfell and these men robbed him, leaving him with several wounds that would’ve killed him within the day. It took us five days, but we caught up and captured them. We bring them to you for judgment.”

They helped the thieves down and Rawlin approached Matt. “What about this one? I see he isn’t bound, but he’s in business with these three. And where is the fourth, Mikhel?”

Matt opened his mouth, about to speak, when Tirene quieted him. Liniana spoke. “He saved us when we were ambushed. He has since cooperated with us and helped to bring these two to justice. If it’s okay with you, we would like to use his services further.” She bowed her head to Rawlin. “As for Mikhel, I’m afraid he died when we broke away from their ambush.”

Rawlin turned to her and said, “I’m not surprised Mikhel got himself killed. Never was a very talented fighter, lacking the appropriate smarts, if you know what I mean.” The two prisoners glared at the magistrate for speaking so poorly of their dead friend. “Matt does good work, I know that. I don’t know if I would trust him, but that is of course your choice.” He turned to face the two prisoners. “Let's take them to the cell. Attempted murder is no little crime, fellas. Count yourselves lucky if you don’t get hanged.” He put his elbow into one of their backs and urged them forward. They were soon across the street and out of sight.

When they were gone, Tirene spoke to the others. “Let's go inside and grab a decent meal, before we go and talk to Norlun.”

Inside the atmosphere sounded loud and boisterous. Some of the patrons had already imbibed too much, but then, when wasn’t this the case in a tavern. The serving girls took wide berths when delivering their drinks to avoid being grabbed by the drunkards. The four of them found an empty table and walked over to take a seat.

A serving girl walked over and set her tray down on their table. With her hands free, she rested them on her hips and said, “Hi there. What can I get for ya?” She noticed Matt sitting with them. “Been a while, Matt. How have ya been?”
              Matt kept his answers short. “I’m good. I’m riding with these three now.” He smiled at her. “We’ll take four ales, and what does Chet have cooking in back?”

She cocked her head. “I’m kind of surprised to see you in this company, but it’s a welcome change, I will admit. You didn’t belong with those other ruffians.” She returned her attention to the others. “Chet’s baking chicken pasties today. They are stuffed with chicken, potato and onion.” This made their mouths salivate; they were all so sick of dried meat. They ordered one for each them. “I’ll get working on that for ya, and will bring you the ales.” She picked up her tray and sauntered back to the kitchen.

When she disappeared, Tirene began. “Well now that we’re here, I can’t wait to see Norlun. I just hope he can help me.”

Liniana looked at him. “Are you nervous about what you might find?”

Before Tirene could answer, Jaeden spoke up. “You have to be.” He looked up, chagrined with having spoken out-loud. “With all we’ve encountered so far, I would think there has to be some reason.” Jaeden shifted deeper into his seat. “I know my nerves are a thin thread right now.”

Matt tried to speak up and ask questions, but Tirene cut him off. “In answer to your question Jaeden, yes I’m nervous, but more than anything I’m ready to know who I am…or what I’m doing here—anything.”

The girl returned carrying their four mugs of ale. Tirene thanked her as Matt and Jaeden took long pulls. Liniana tossed her some coins, and the girl dismissed herself to attend to her other duties. Tirene took a sip from his mug and then looked to both Liniana and Matt. “What is Norlun like?”

Liniana shrugged her shoulders. “The last time I saw him, I was but a young girl, so I can’t be sure.”

Matt took another sip of his ale and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He swallowed, and said, “Why do you seek Norlun?”

Tirene noticed how uncomfortable Matt seemed now, and said. “He’s known to be a seer as well as a wizard. I don’t know who I am, and we’re seeking his help in hopes he can help me regain some of my memories.” He took another draw from his mug.

Matt looked long at Tirene and shook his head. “You should know then, Norlun is the old man who hired us to capture the orb.” He looked at each of them in turn, as their faces registered shock. “I thought you would want to know. He told us to capture the artifact, I mean orb, at all costs, and to return it to him.”

Tirene shot Liniana a glare. “At all costs?” Two girls walked out of the kitchen, carrying two plates apiece. They walked over to their table and dropped a plate in front of each of them. She looked at them and asked if she could get them anything else.

Still thinking about Norlun, Tirene said, “Bring us another round of ale.” The barmaid nodded her head and disappeared. Tirene glanced at his plate of food while the other three tore into their pasties. He ripped off a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth to give himself time to digest the new information.

Jaeden swallowed the first bites of his meal and finished it off with what remained of his ale. “We can give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he wanted to protect it because it’s so important.” He continued to shove spoonfuls in

The girl brought over the mugs of ale and set them down. Tirene finished his mouthful of food and asked, “Can you tell me about the wizard, Norlun? I need to find him, and anything you could tell me about him would be appreciated.”

She seemed ready to be on to another task, but answered his question. “No different from any other old man. Talks a lot of gibberish and speaks of days past. He’s friendly enough.” She gave them all a small smile. “I don’t know if it will do you any good, though—he left eight days ago, talking about visions he had. He urged us all to leave before what he called the 'dark days come'.” She shook her head. “Sorry to give you the bad news. Is there anything else?”

Tirene, Jaeden, and Liniana all exchanged crestfallen looks. Tirene gathered himself and said, “Did he mention where he went?”

“Not really. He has many places he runs off to, but I think I heard him mention he intended to go northeast.” She scrunched up her face as if to recall.

They let her leave so she could continue her business, and tried to return to their meals. A dark mood surrounded them all as they tried to take stock of the situation.

Jaeden spoke first. “Well, now what?”

Tirene took a moment and then said, “I don’t know; I’m at a loss for how to continue.” Pain and anguish filled him as his hopes were crushed. The incessant urge to reach Norlun pushed to the forefront of his mind. He knew he had to reach the wizard, he just had to—but now, how would he?

Liniana gave them a reassuring look. “Well I think we should ask around and see if anyone knows where in the northeast he might be headed, but at least we have a general idea.” She contemplated her thoughts while she tore into a piece of bread. “Maybe with the magistrate's approval, we could even look around his house and see if there is anything that can help us. There has to be some clue as to where he’s headed.”

They all nodded their approval and finished their meals. With the plates cleared, they arranged for rooms for the evening. After their hard ride for the past week, they needed a good night's rest. They found someone who could direct them to their rooms, and were led upstairs to settle into their meager accommodations.

Tirene enjoyed the idea of having his own room for once. He stripped out of his riding clothes and noticed a pitcher filled with warm water next to a basin. He used it to wash the dirt off his face and arms, and grabbed a fresh towel to dry it. Anger brewed inside him again…he had traveled all this way only to find Norlun had left over a week ago. A major setback—true—but he knew he needed to be resilient and the urge to find the old man seemed to have grown even stronger within. They had to continue their journey until they found him. He held so much hope this man could help him and he felt despair at having to continue this game of hide and seek. He threw his fists down on the cabinet holding the basin. He used so much force it rocked the empty pitcher and it fell over, shattering into hundreds of pieces of clay. He told himself he needed to calm down as he bent down to gather up all the broken pieces.

He was still bent over when a knock came upon his door, startling him, and he sliced his palm on one of the shards. He tossed all of the pieces into an empty trash bucket and walked over to see who it was. Cursing under his breath, and sucking at his wound, he opened the door.

Liniana had also cleaned herself up and stood at his door. She smiled at him. “I just wanted to check in with you and make sure you weren’t too upset with what we found out. We’ll find Norlun.” She smiled at him and her eyes drifted down to his hand. “You’re bleeding! What happened?”

He tried to pull his hand back to hide it, but it was too late. “It’s nothing. I cut myself cleaning up broken shards after a pitcher fell and broke.”

She gathered his hand in hers and the familiar warming sensation filled his body. She healed the wound and let his hand fall. “There you go.” She smirked at him. “You need to be more careful. I won’t always be around to heal you.” She returned her eyes to meet his.

“Thank you. Yes, I’m a little angry we came all of this way and Norlun isn’t here.” He gave her a small smile. “How do you think the pitcher broke?”

“Men!” She shook her head at him. “Shall we go and see if we can investigate his home?”

He nodded his head in agreement and they both left the room. They stopped by Jaeden and Matt’s and told the pair to enjoy the afternoon, before they headed back out on the road in the morning.

They walked down the stairs of the inn and outside onto the city streets, with the sun approaching the eastern horizon. They took a casual pace and made their way to the magistrate's office. Inside they found Rawlin sitting behind a desk busy filling out paperwork, probably about the two they had turned in earlier. Behind the desk sat a hallway, Tirene could only guess it led to prison cells.

He looked up from his paperwork as they entered. “What can I do for ya? Do you need something else from the prisoners?”

Tirene let Liniana do the talking. “Good evening, Rawlin. We don’t need anything else from the prisoners we handed over, but we do have another request for you, if you wouldn’t mind.” She waited until he nodded his head, motioning for her to go on. “We came to Riverfell in search of Norlun. We’ve been told by a serving girl in the inn he left eight days ago. Is this true?”

He looked long at her. “Yes. He left over a week ago, ranting and raving.” He sighed. “Good riddance if you ask me. That old man can create quite a stir. So what can I help ya with? He didn’t mention where he headed, if that’s what you’re after.”

“That’s what we’ve been told. We brought him something of great importance. It’s what the thieves had taken and we need to return it to him before it’s too late.” She gave the magistrate a hopeful look. “We were wondering, with your permission of course, if we could look around his house and see if we could possibly determine where he fled to. We gathered he headed northeast, but that leaves a lot of possibilities.” She shrugged.