The night air sends a chill down her spine.  Amalya waits patiently outside of the city gates, staring out into the darkness.  The city is still quite a buzz with the usual drunkards and ladies of the night.  The city guards were more prevalent as they attempted to keep order amongst the drunken rabble.  No one seems to notice her standing by the gate with practically everything she had carried with her.  After Arthur returned from confronting the dragon slayer, he told her to gather all their belongings and meet him at the entrance to the city.  So, after wolfing down the last fine cooked meal she would probably eat for many moons, she went upstairs to their room and prepared to leave.  Now she waits for her brother to appear, but he was taking his time getting there.

Amalya stretches her arms up into the air.  She leans against the wall and closes her eyes.  She was not looking forward to traveling with this man.  This was a very large risk that Arthur was getting them into and the more she thought about it, the less she was comfortable with it.  She had a very bad feeling but there was little she could do.  She opens her eyes and lets go of another icy breath.  A cloud of air hangs in the air in front of her.  She watches it slowly dance through the sky before drifting off into the night without a trace of ever existing.  

“Amalya…”
Amalya jumps into the air like a jackrabbit and wheels around to see Arthur standing next to her with a rather hysterical grin on his face.  Amalya swings her fist at him.  He backs away but takes her strike like a champ.
“ You horrid sneak! Don’t do that again!”

After dealing her fair share of blows to his well-armored shoulder, Amalya takes a deep breath.  She looks behind her brother to find that no one is following him,

“Where’s our hospitable guide gone to?”

Arthur grabs up some of their belongings and heads out of the city.  Amalya, with the rest of the gear strapped to her back, reluctantly follows.  He does not say a work for a long time.  They walk farther and farther from the gates at a normal but uncomfortable pace.  Amalya reaches her brother and prods him for details, “Well?”

“We had to be seen leaving the city alone…just to be safe.”

His eyes try not to wander towards the casual stragglers on the road, but his suspicions have followed him by the coat tails.  “We would need to be a great distance from this city before he feels comfortable,” Amalya keeps pace with her brother as they walk on into the night.

Time seemed to travel with them.  They soon reached the inn where they first encountered their new companion.  Arthur stops in front of the doors and looks around.  He begins to move towards the back of the inn, trying to be as quiet as possible.  It appears that the nightlife of the city does not travel outside the safety of its walls.  This Inn was very quiet with only a few candles seen flickering out through the windows.  Along the side of the Inn stands a rather large group of stalls, each housing man or beast.  They walk past an old skinny fellow sleeping soundly in the hay between two goats.  The smell of manure and hay was overpowering as it hands in the air around them.  Arthur peers at the man but quickly moves on. He looks in almost every stall until they reach the last.

Without warning, a man pops up from under the bail.  Hay is embedded in his hair and armor.  He stands up a bit uneasy.  Amalya could tell he was still a bit slouched from his rather drunken evening of ale and axes. He begins to brush himself off lazily, adjusting his armor so that it sits properly,
“What took yer so long?”

He looks up and his eyes fall immediately on Amalya.  He stops fidgeting and stares at her for a moment before giving her a mad smirk.  He slowly drops into a bow,

“Good evening, m’ pretty little lady.”

Amalya glares at him, showing her disgust at his presence rather clearly.  She leans forward rather forcefully, “I am NOT your little lady! You can forget about calling me that if you plan on accompanying us.”

“Forgive my choice of words,” He sits up again learning at his side.  “I only meant to be flatterin’ to one as beautiful as yerself.”

He gives her a rather sarcastic look and chuckles to himself.  His face was peppered with unkempt stubble and his dark hair hangs from his head in a curly shaggy mess.  His face was weathered as if he has seen too many winters.  He was fit and well armored, though he was rather a rusty looking warrior.  The only feature that stood out of place was his eyes.  Although sagging from lack of sleep and too much ale, they seemed clouded with hopelessness.  It was almost sad to look at him and know what he had once been. A proud and brave warrior who once fought for a cause reduced to this.  His mouth surely made up for any sympathy she might have felt for him. She looks at Arthur who gives her a watchful stare. Ren reaches out his hand and clears his throat, “Before we get started here…”

Arthur turns towards him.  He smiles his cheeky grin, “as we agreed.”

Arthur sheathes his sword behind him and begins to fish through his pouch.  He pulls out a round pouch clinking with a coin.  He places the bag in Ren’s hand, “Half now, half when we reach our destination.”

He takes the bag and shakes it close to his ears.  The sound of clinking coin brings a rather greedy glint in his eye, “Don’t rightfully know how ya came across that gold but money is money whether it’s dirty or clean.”  He pockets the money and pulls up a large water skin strapped to his side. He pops off the top and takes a long swig. Amalya was sure it did not contain water. Pale red wine drips down his chin spotting the hay below his feet. He had no shame in embarrassing himself. He pulls his lips away reluctantly and wipes his arm across his chin. With a hearty grunt, satisfied with what he had just consumed down his gullet, he gives them a hard look, “Let’s get one thing straight hea’…not one of you is to call me Ser Rendell.  That name has left a bad taste in my mouth.  Ren is my name and fighting is my pleasure.  I don’t care if yer’ hate me or love me.  I was paid to do a job and that’s that.”

Amalya guilefully interrupts, “How long will it take us to get to Jar.”

“Without me, yer lookin’ at 3 months from now.  With me, I’ll have yer there in 2.”

Arthur steps in, “2 months?”

Ser Rendell raises his hand up, “I’d try ter get yer there in 1.  Yer honestly think there won’t be a few mishaps along the way?”

“We want this to go as smoothly as possible.”

“No doubtin’ you do but I can tell you one thing lad…what you expect is far from what will happen.”

The road was very quiet.  The three companions spoke very little amongst themselves.  Ren took the lead, sipping down wine from his water skin from time to time.  Arthur was not too far behind him.  His eyes never leave the back of Ren’s head.  He did not trust this man as any man would mistrust a drunken squabble.  Ren takes another long swig and gulps it down loudly.  Pulling it away from his lips, he raises his arm and wipes his mouth.  His head turns towards its side, catching a glimpse of them behind him, “So why are ye’ headin’ to Jar then?”

Arthur keeps his face complacent, “That is none of your concern.”

He glances back at them before facing forward once again, “Yer rather young to be travelin’ alone.”

“We’re not alone.  We hired you.”

Ren lets out a hasty laugh, “So ya did. That just shows how desperate yer really are to get there.”

“You have no need to be suspicious of us.”

“Oh, I suppose that’s only yer job to be suspicious of me then?”

Amalya chimes into her brother’s defense, “We did not hire you to jabber our ears off…”

“Oh forgive me miss fer tryin’ to lighten’ the mood a bit. “

“The sooner you get us to Jar the sooner we can be rid of you.”

Ren grins, “Didn’t know I was such a burden to yer already then.”

“We were desperate…”

“Aye, so sorry for not livin’ up to yer expectations.”

He turns around and begins to walk backward, staring intently at Amalya.  She keeps her face stern to counteract his dastardly smile, “So what’s the matter with you then…all wrapped up like yer made of glass?  Are those keepin’ yer bones together now? Ashamed at being a woman are we?”

Arthur’s voice hangs low “That’s enough of that, thank you.”

“Excuse me then…you’re still a child.  Just a misbehavin’ little weasel I take it.  Ran away from home I bet? Couldn’t leave without yer bodyguard to protect you heh?”

Ren looks once more at Amalya before turning around.  He begins to whistle to himself as they continue to walk down the silent road.  Arthur holds his breath wishing with every fiber of his being to slug that smiles off of his face.

The fire roars silently into the night air.  Amalya has always enjoyed the smell of burning wood.  It was a comfort to her.It still shocked her how much she missed home.  Ren sat across from her, silently grinding his axes with a heavy flint stone.  He watches the edge shimmer, admiring the sharpness of the blade.  His eyes spoke as warriors would.  Such concentration went into every drag of the stone, knowing that his life depended on these fine pieces of steel.  Arthur moves in front of him and sits to his left.  He unsheathes his sword and looks it over carefully.  Ren looks up at his sword, “That’s a fine weapon you got there lad.”

Arthur places his sword on his side and does not take his eyes off it, “It was a gift to me from my Commander.”

“ He must have thought very fondly of you to give you such a fine sword.”

“ I was his squire.”

“Were you trainin’ to be a knight?”

“City Guard.”

“Aye, that’s about the only honorable position a man could take in this place.”

Arthur looks at him, forgetting all concern to be cautious, “Why is that?”

Ren places his axe firmly in his lap, “ To protect the innocent from harm is honorable.”

“Were you never an honorable man?”

Ren looks into the fire and shakes his head, “A dragon slayer is far from honorable.”

“I see no difference.”

“Shows just how littl’ you know.”

He continues to sharpen his axe.  His face has a subtle change; so minor Amalya almost missed it through the flames.  He was a perplexing subject, but Amalya knew that he was just a broken man. Ren continues to speak, “Must have been rather important ter leave your home,” Ren glances up at Arthur who sits with his arms resting on his knees,  “To abandon yer post…must have been a hard decision.”

Arthur stares into the fire, “It was the right thing to do.”

Ren shakes his head and sits up. He places his sharpened ax next to its sister by his feet, “So it was.”

Amalya adjusts her position and sits up straight, “Is that what you did?”

Ren and Arthur over to her. Her brother’s eyes grow big as if to tell her to keep her mouth shut. She was a big girl; she could poke and pry if she wanted to. She was always the curious sort but that was not by choice. How could someone lock away most of her life be anything but? Amalya keeps her eyes on Ren, who stealthily tries to read her intentions.  She makes sure not to flinch and holds on to a brave face, “When you took the gold from Padure…”

Ren’s face narrows.  He squints his eyes and twists his mouth, “You don’t like to keep quiet do ya?”

“That is not an answer to my question.”

“Never said I would answer it did I now?”

Ren leans forward towards the head of the fire, “You best keep yer words to yerself now unless you care to tell me the reason you’re on this little adventure of yers…don’t pry where it’s not meant to be opened.”

He dutifully stands up, kicking dirt into the fire before he storms off into the surrounding woods.  Arthur looks at Amalya, “Leave it alone.”

“Since when are you on his side?”

“He is our guide. There’s no need to get under his skin.”

“What good is a guide if we cannot trust him?”

“What good are we without him? Do not force him to reveal his past to us.  It is his business, let him choose to deal with it as he sees fit.”

“Through of a bottle of wine?”

“The only thing YOU should be concerned about is keeping your mouth shut!”

Amalya slinks towards the ground and lies down on the ground.  She turns to face away from her brother, who reluctantly leans against the tree behind him.  

The journey begins to create a very uncomfortable gap between Arthur and Amalya.  Her intentions to interrogate Ren have put him on the defensive, trying not to see their coin walk away from them unexpectantly.   He begins to form a rather fragile partnership with Ren.  Although having little in common, Ren’s experience in the field of combat has Arthur rather intrigued.  As they continue on, the two men carefully go over fighting techniques on the road, even getting into the occasional spar.  They seem to enjoy it, especially if it ends with a large mouthful of ale.  

They soon reach a small town not too far from the outskirts of the City.  The town seems to provide little short of hospitality.  Many of the houses were abandoned or destroyed.  The few townsfolk who were left gave them unwelcome glances.  Ren cautiously continues on, keeping a close hand in his belt, “These folks have seen the fires of darkness.”

Arthur looks around and keeps a close on Amalya, “How can you tell?”

Ren glances at him, “I’ve seen my fair share of villages laid waste by those monsters…this here’s not the worst of ‘em.”

They reach a small group of shops near the center of town.  Ren stops and looks around before turning to face them, “Lets split up, gather what we need and get out o’ here.  I get the feelin’ outsiders aren’t too welcome.”

“Filling up on ale again are we?” Amalya dares to ask. Ren returns her jape with a smile, “Never deny a man his ale lass.” He turns and walks down towards the small group of shops, “Best get that one a weapon of some sort Arthur.  You can’t defend her from every enemy she faces.”

Arthur gives Amalya a look and makes his way down towards the other end of shops.  He peers through one of the windows before summoning Amalya to his side, “He’s got a point there. “

They enter the small shop.  It is littered with an assortment of used armor, weapons and the like.  On one wall hung a mass of small tools and assortments.  Its air was heavy with the smell of steel and iron.  Amalya runs her hands over some of the rusted armor.  Her eyes dance amongst the possibilities of finally wearing her own suit.  Arthur grabs her arm and leads her over towards the merchant.  He was a rather small man who looked as if he has not had a meal in ages.  He looks up at them with sad eyes.  Arthur stands up straight, trying to be as polite as possible, “Excuse me, sir, might you have a weapon befitting this young lady?”

The man looks from Arthur to Amalya, “Not for me to say…”

Arthur clears his throat; “Forgive me, sir.”

“This here shop ain’t mine to give.  The blacksmith’s long been dead.  Take what you will and give us no trouble.”

“You misunderstand…”

“It is you who misunderstands.”

He looks at them with fear in his eyes.  Although he holds his ground well, Amalya could see that this man just wanted to be left alone.  The merchant slowly resides back to his seat, watching them closely.  Amalya turns around and quickly scans what weapons she sees with her eyes.  She stops at a small rather curved bladed sword.  She reaches up and takes it from the wall.  Carefully, she weighs it in her hand.  Arthur walks up to her and takes the sword.  He places his finger under it, balancing it ever so carefully; “Nice balance and is a good size for you.” He twists it sword around fast, presenting her with the hilt.  Amalya takes the sword in her hand and holds it up towards the light.  

“Take what you want and go…”

She grabs a belt and fits it to her side.  Carefully the sword slides into the belt.  Arthur walks up to the man and presents him with a few gold coins.  The man shakes his head and pushes it away, “No…please…just go.”  Arthur tries to offer him the money again, but the man refuses to take it.  Amalya snatches the money from her brother’s hand.  She grabs the man’s hand, holding it steadily in her own.  The man looks up at her but does not pull away.  Amalya slowly places the coins in his hand and closes his fingers around them.  She looks into his sad unforgiving face, “Please take it…” The man’s eyes begin to soften. Amalya smiles and tries to gently pull away.  The man does not let go of her hand, “Wait.”

He turns around and grabs a rather stunning bow and quivers off of the wall. He turns and presents them to her, “For all the evil you will face…” Amalya hesitates for a moment.  He places the bow in her hands and smiles. Amalya takes it and throws it across her back, “Thank you, sir.” She backs away from him, his eyes never leaving her face. They walk out of the shop and back through the desolate village.

Arthur looks over the assortment of weapons that Amalya was presented with, “You got a right bargain with this one.”

“Let’s get out of here soon, this place is taking a heavy toll on me.” Every inch was closing in around her, suffocating her with a horrible contingent of pain and sadness.  Arthur returns the bow to her.  She drapes it over her side, now fully equipped for a battle she was never trained to face.  They walk through the span of the town towards its western most entrance.  They stop in the road and wait patiently for their ever-vigilant guide,

“ To think I thought he would be here to greet us.”

Arthur cranes his neck down the road outside of town.  He catches a glimpse of someone up ahead, “Don’t talk too soon, I think he’s up there.”  They make their way up the road.  As they get closer, they notice he is comfortably sitting on a rock skinning a dead rabbit.  Ren lifts up his head at their approach.  He looks at Amalya and a very childish grin adorns his face, “Well now,” he says aloud, “Don’t you look like yer ready for a fight.”

“Making jokes are we?”

He shakes his head, “Always think I’m out ter make life miserable…never given me a chance are ya?”

“Like you gave that rabbit a chance?”

He holds up a dead animal, “Got to eat somehow don’t we?” He slings he freshly skinned meat over his shoulder and smiles.  Arthur slaps him reassuringly on the back, “Let’s get a move on.”

He starts forward leaving Amalya standing alone.  Ren looks back at her and smiles, “Your brother’s got a good heart.” His sincerity shocks her.  She had never heard him mutter anything so profoundly heartfelt.  Amalya is left almost speechless.  An unexpecting charm emerges for the first time since they’ve been together.  Amalya cannot help but smile back at him.  Ren laughs to himself, “Ah…so you can smile.”

He turns and walks proudly behind Arthur.  Amalya watches for only a moment before continuing on herself.  Her heart was pounding, almost exhilarated from that brief but revealing conversation.  She tries to calm herself down, inhaling slowly to recover from a very unexpected moment.  

Next Chapter: Chapter 13: Along Comes a Dragon