Walking the trail outside Tarkhet, I balanced my money pouch in my hand. It was distressingly light. Most of the silver coins my father and I earned once my mother was gone had disappeared into his liver and then made their way down the privy. I would have to join a caravan as Father Aaran had suggested if I wanted to get anywhere faster than my legs would take me.

With this in mind, I set course for the town of Dawn’s Vale. When gold was first discovered in the Giant’s Reach mountain range, noted frontiersman Matthew Connor led an expedition to build a trade hub between the mountains and Stronburg. Any caravan traveling from the mountain range to the capitol would need a place to resupply if its workers didn’t want to risk running out of food and water in the wilds between the trading post and the city.

Dawn’s Vale had grown in the intervening years, it became the place for local settlers to come for all their trading needs as well as to hear the latest news and gossip from the capitol. Connor’s Trade had been doing a brisk business ever since Matthew opened its doors. In fact, Matthew himself was the man to talk to about hiring on with any of the caravans, he employed pretty much every soul in the small community that grew around the busy trade hub. Upon my arrival in Dawn’s Vale, his office would be my first stop.

I strode down the dusty road leading into Dawn’s Vale with a week’s worth of dirt on my boots and a smile on my face. It had been an easy journey of good weather, if a bit cold, and smooth traveling. I was feeling good, breathing in the free air and exhaling all of my lingering doubts. The townsfolk seemed a happy and hard working folk, most returned my smile and wave from their fields and labors with at least a polite nod as they raced the setting sun to finish their chores. The trading town offered everything a caravan could need; the surrounding land had been turned into farms to produce food for mounts and men; there was a smithy to repair arms and armor for the caravan guards or to put a new shoe on any horse or oxen that came up lame; an inn for the caravaneers, or any other weary soul, to rest at with a stable out back for the animals; even a small brothel with its enticing ladies on display.

I came to the door of Matthew’s log-walled office to find the man himself locking the sturdy wooden door behind him. Matthew was a large man, a hair shorter than I, with bushy brown hair, an impressive beard and a spirited twinkle in his dark eyes. He wore a brown hide jacket over a woven cotton shirt and buckskin pants.

Turning to me he asked, “What can I help you with young man?”

He took in my travel stained clothes and pack at a glance and gave me an encouraging wink.

“Well sir, I had hoped to hire on to a caravan to Stronburg.”

“Ah, striking out on your own are ya?” he inquired, putting an arm around my shoulder and leading me off towards the local inn, the Graceless Griffon, “Join me for a pint and some dinner and we’ll chat about getting you a position.”

“Oh, alright,” I said, taken aback a bit by his unexpectedly friendly nature, I gamely followed him through the front door and joined him at a table near the back of the common room near a large fireplace. The proprietor, a rotund gentleman wearing a white woolen shirt under a dark brown apron, appeared immediately to take our order. He ran a hand through his short, sandy brown hair and grasped my hand in a firm, sweaty grip when I introduced myself. Matthew ordered himself a hippogriff flank steak and a pitcher of ale for the both of us. I ordered a favorite dish of mine that my mother used to cook, rabbit stew with onion and tomato.

“Jennifer will bring that out as soon as it is finished cooking,” the innkeeper said, gesturing to the barmaid with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail, who was delivering us a fresh-baked loaf of bread to another table, “If there’s anything else you need don’t hesitate to ask her.”

“Thank you Briggs,” Matthew said.

“My thanks as well,” I added.

“Of course sirs,” Briggs bowed and backed away, returning to his other duties.

Matthew cut us both a slice of the steaming, brown bread and it melted in my mouth as I bit into it.

“Delicious,” I said around a mouthful, spreading a pat of butter onto my next bite.

“Briggs hires the best,” Matthew said with a smile, “Now let’s talk about you. Is there a certain position you were looking for with the next caravan?”

“Nothing in particular,” I replied, taking a sip of ale, “I just wanted the safety a caravan offered a lone traveler. I’ll take any available position really.”

He studied me for a moment, glancing down at my pack and rifle next to me on the floor, “So, what prompted your exodus into the wilds?”

“Well, Mr. Connor,” I said, “My mum’s passed on and my father is drinking himself to death so I decided it was time for me to get away and start my own life.”

“Please, call me Matthew. Sorry to hear about your mother, but it must still be invigorating to be out on your own. I remember how free I felt when I first struck out into the wild, how excited I was to be exploring the unknown.”

I smiled at the echo of my thoughts just a few minutes earlier on the road, “Aye, that’s true.”

We talked for a while about what it was like being a frontiersman and he asked me about my background. I told him about my life as a woodcutter, my more recent years hunting wolves and my ultimate decision to return to wood cutting. Our food arrived, steam rising from the plates and we tucked in with gusto, each bite of the stew reminded me of chilly days at home, wrapped in blankets in front of a fire, sharing a meal as a family.

When we had both finished our meals and leaned back in our chairs, letting our dinner digest, Matthew told me about the next caravan to Stronburg.

“It leaves in two days and travels almost straight south, so you would arrive in Stronburg relatively quickly. However, the caravan does pass through the Great Forest,” he said, “It’s one of the more dangerous routes but there will be plenty of guards going along. And, based on your past, it sounds like you can take care of yourself. All you’ll be needed for is helping to load and unload the cargo.”

“Sounds more than fine to me,” I said.

“Now, that’s the job you asked about. But I have another proposition for you.”

“I’m all ears,” I said, intrigued.

“I always need good men like you around here, protecting my holdings and enforcing the law around these parts. You’re a strapping lad and it sounds as though you know your way around a weapon. You could have your own house here in the Vale.”

“Th-that’s a very generous offer sir,” I stammered, “But I’m a woodsman at heart and I’m not sure I want a job with the possibility of violence.”

“Feel free to remain here in the Griffon for now,” he offered, “I’ll get Briggs to have a room prepared for you. Sleep on it this evening and tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the leader of the caravan and we can talk more. ”

“I don’t know if I can afford that Mr. Con...er, Matthew.”

He waved a hand at me, “Consider it my gift to a young man starting his new life,” he said.

“That’s very kind of you,” I told him, “I would be in your debt.”

“As long as you give some thought to my offer, call us even.”

“I will. Thank you again for your hospitality.”

“You’re welcome lad,” he said, clasping my hand again, “Briggs will send someone along shortly to show you to your room. ’Til the morrow,” he boomed with a final bow and he swept off through the door behind the bar to find Briggs.

I called Jennifer over and ordered a slice of apple pie for dessert. While I waited I thought about Matthew’s offer. It would mean a stable position in a booming community and he could certainly afford to pay well. A free house was nothing to take lightly. Did I want to give up on my decision to remain a woodcutter so easily? This place seemed peaceful but I had seen enough violence for a life time. It would definitely require some careful consideration.

As I was savoring the last sweet bite of the warm apple pie I opened my eyes to find a pale skinned young woman looking down at me with sharp green eyes. Her short red hair was trimmed on the sides with a longer wave flowing left to right on the top. She wore a simple, loose fitting green dress that accentuated her form in the best of ways. I realized I had been staring for a while when my eyes dried out and I had to blink moisture back into them.

“Your room is ready, sir,” she said, the corner of her mouth turning up and an amused twinkle in her eye, “If you’ll follow me.”

“My thanks milady,” I said rising hurriedly and gathering up my pack, almost dropping it as I did. Reaching down quickly I managed to save my pack from hitting the floor but my elbow slammed into the corner of the table. “Shall we?” I said, wincing in pain as I slipped my pack over my shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow she turned and crooked a finger over her shoulder, her dress swished in time with her graceful stride across the common room to the wooden stairway leading up to the rooms above. I caught myself staring again and forced my legs into motion to follow after her. The sway of her hips as she mounted the stairs ahead of me turned my feet to lead and I nearly stumbled twice on the dozen or so stairs.

Stopping at a door midway down the hall she pulled a key from the folds of her dress and opened a door. Her voice took on a lightly mocking tone as she echoed my earlier formality, “If that pleases m’lord.” Her small smile took any sting from her words.

It took a moment to wrench my gaze from her to the modestly appointed room. There was a bed, a small dresser with a washbasin and mirror on top of it, a window looking out over the main street, and not much else.

“It’ll do just fine,” I said, placing my bag on the bed.

“Good night then sir,” she said. Dropping a small curtsy she turned to leave.

“Wait!” I called, stepping out of the door. Her eyes transfixed me again but I fought through it, “May I at least know the name of this enchanting creature that brought me here.”

“Felecia,” she said softly as she disappeared down the stairs.

I stepped back into the room and up to the washbasin. As I splashed water on my face, staring into the mirror I decided that I couldn’t let her go. Pocketing the key to my rooms, I went back downstairs. There was no sign of her in the common room so I sought her in the kitchen. Briggs was there overseeing the cooking of a large pig, he said he knew nothing of Felicia or anyone matching her description, he had sent Jennifer to see me to my room. None of the other bar workers knew of anyone matching the description I gave either. Jennifer still had the key she was told to give me, when she looked out of the kitchen and saw I wasn’t at my table she assumed I had gone on an errand and would return shortly.

After searching the streets around the inn for an hour or two I returned to my room in a funk. In order to clear my head I thought I would clean my body. Jennifer took me to a door beside the fireplace that led into a tiled room with several brass tubs in the center. The tubs were separated from each other by large wooden privacy screens that could be adjusted to sit all the way around the tub and its accompanying bench for total seclusion. Seeing as there were no other patrons I left the screens open. On one end of the room was a water pump and several buckets, to the left of the door we entered through was another fire. This one was in a pit in the ground and had a vat with water boiling in it suspended over it by an iron bar. Two young men grabbed either end of the bar and poured the steaming water into the tub.

“I’ll bring you a towel in a few minutes,” Jennifer said, heading back into the common room.

The two young men exited the room and left me to my bath. I stacked my clothes on a nearby bench and submersed myself in the tub. It felt good to finally get the dirt of my long travels off of my skin and the warmth of the water eased my troubled mind. I was nearly asleep in the tub when Jennifer dropped off my freshly laundered clothes that I hadn’t noticed her take next to the towel I hadn’t seen her deliver. Stepping out of the tub I toweled off, got dressed, headed up to my room. I collapsed onto the bed and was asleep shortly thereafter. It was a long night, my dreams full of green eyes, flashing swords and snarling Wolves.

Next Chapter: Chapter3