Chapter 30.
What’s in a name?
It was late in the afternoon when Theodren and Reina arrived on the outskirts of Oreton, riding out of the lush forest and into the acrid air that assaulted Theodren’s nose as they rode to the gate. A harsh and oppressive haze hung over the city, coal and iron mixing with the unmistakable stench of thousands of people packed on top of eachother. Beithir had not needed to be told to wait outside of the city. The heavily industrialized tang in the air was enough to keep him far back from the tree line. As the duo approached the gate, Theoedren was envious of the bear. How people could live, stacked on top of one another as they did here baffled him, and he was loath to enter such a pile of humanity as this.
Two weary looking guards leaned against their spears. Eyes glazed over in boredom, they hardly noticed the large man and small woman melding into the crowd of other road weary travelers. Finally through the gates, Theodren released the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. Reina looked around, wide eyes over a wrinkled nose. “Not even the slums smelled like this.” She whispered, tucking Theviana deeper into her chest as if to shelter her from the stench.
Theodren looked around, for shops, for lodging, for information. Anything to speed them on their way north and away from this city of squalor. Reina grabbed his sleeve, pulling him toward a wooden horse cracked with age, hanging over what appeared to be stables. Clicking his tongue, he urged his tired horse through a throng of people streaming by in a sense of urgency only important to themselves.
“Dismount there and tie your horses to the post, I’ll be with you in a moment.” Said a gruff voice from a stall out of sight. Theodren nodded to Reina and they slid from their horses. Theodren pulled his and Reina’s packs from the horses as they waited for the yet unseen stablemaster. A large figure, broad at the shoulders sporting forearms thick with strength, rounded the corner, wiping his hand on a leather apron before offering it to Theodren. “Names Kemp, this is my stable.” said the man.
Theodren shook his offered hand. “We need new mounts, supplies and lodging for the night.” Kemp nodded, looking from Theodren to Reina and then the child on her chest. “You’ll want a wagon. A trip north needs more than you can fit on a horse, especially for a young family like yours.”
Reina sputtered. “We’re not…”
Theodren put a hand on her shoulder. “First trip north with the little one. Got to introduce her to my Ma before she comes south to tan my hide for not bringing her sooner.” He chuckled, shooting Reina a look. Theodren turned back to the stablemaster. “How’d you know we were going north?” He asked, unease edging his voice.
Kemp snorted, poking a finger at the outline of Retribution curled around his bicep. “I know a battle band when I see one son.” He lifted his sleeve, showing a silver arm band of his own. “Got this one at the Stith, old Redbeard gave it to me himself.” Theodren raised a brow at that. Redbeard had been a frequent guest of his father’s hall, often carousing Thorn into drinking games and the telling of tales from the war.
The Stith he remembered, was a fort built on a promontory that jut into the Jormungand. Grandia had made a massive push for the fort, hoping to claim it to guard crossings into the north and establish a beachhead. It was a desperate and wasteful battle. Many a body in gold and white livery was washed away as their commanders drove them onward. Through sheer numbers and an almost suicidal bravery, The southern legion managed to cross into the north if only for a moment. Redbeard had been his father’s foremost friend and Jarl and he would not stand for golden boots on northern land. A ferocious fighter as well as a mad tactician, He had seeded the bank with oil in the night. And when the enemy crossed, they were greeted with a corridor of fire that led to Redbeard and his warband who, to hear him tell it, held off the enemy advance single handedly.
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Theodren cast an appraising eye over the stable master’s soul. The colors were muted, dimmed from decades of soldiering and the simple wear of time, but they were not muddied with cruelty as the bandits or Hardwright’s guards had been. This was a man who killed when he had to and only when he had to. He gave the man a genuine smile. “My father told me many tales of the fighting at the Stith, if you were there then I am glad to know you. My name is Roden, and this is my wife Steina and our child Thevi.” Theodren said, saying their fake names loud and clear enough for Reina to remember.
Kemp chuckled “It is good to know you as well, I would ask a favor of you for your trip north.” Theodren considered for a moment. “Name it.” Kemp turned and hustled to the empty stall where a workbench sat, cluttered with an odd collection of tools, scraps of iron, ledgers and parchment. Muttering under his breath, he found one sheaf of parchment that he had been looking for and stashed it in an envelope that he sealed and marked with a red ‘R’.
Kemp returned with the letter and handed it to Theodren. “When you get north, give this letter to my cousin Eric. He should still be at the Stith, runs the Wet Boot tavern.” Theodren turned the letter over in his hand before tucking it away in his pocket. “I’ll see that he gets it.” he promised. Kemp nodded. “Now, If you sell me those two horses of yours, that’ll cover the cost of the wagon and some dry goods for the trip, but I’ll need two gold a piece for oxen to pull it all. Reina cleared her throat. “Cows? I thought horses pulled carriages.” Kemp raised an eyebrow at her. “City girl eh? Horses are all well and good for pulling your snuff boxes in the city, but for a gruelling trip north over rough terrain, you’ll want something with stronger legs than that.”
Reina narrowed her eyes at the “city girl” moniker but couldn’t rebut it so she sniffed and turned up her nose. Theodren rolled his eyes as he dug into his coin purse, pulling out six gold from the generous collection of coins he had gained from the Mayor and bandits. “I’ll need two oxen and all the dried meat this will get us.” Kemp weighed the coins in his hand. “I’ll need two days to get this together, but there’s plenty of Taverns around here to choose from. Shouldn’t cost you too much either.”
Reina turned pleading eyes on Theodren. “Two nights in an actual bed!? Oh please dear.” she teased begging him to accept the deal that would get her a warm bed and perhaps even a bath for two nights. Theodren weighed the risk the lost time would bring them. It would take Hardwright at least another week to return to Grandia in the state he was in. It would take two more for whatever men he sent to reach the ghost town they left behind and then more time still to track them north. Two days would be an acceptable loss to their schedule he reasoned.
“You’ve got a deal.” Theodren held out his hand to the stable master who shook it in agreement. He turned and shouted at his stablehands who were idling in the corner. Giving them orders and measurements for materials that would make the wagon they needed. Reina bounced excitedly next to Theodren as her mind was already on the minor luxury of bathing and clean linens. “Any recommendations on lodging?” Theodren asked between the man’s barked orders. Kemp turned, eyebrows scrunched together in contemplation. “Anywhere but the Blue Rose.” Reina looked up at him. “Why not? I saw a flyer for it on the way in, it seems nice for the price.”
Kemp shook his head. “Some things that seem too good to be true, are.” Theodren watched as a purple of unease seeped into the man’s soul. “I’ve had customers go into that place and never return for the beasts they stabled with me, it’s after a while someone from the city always comes to take their horses or mules or what have you.” He looked Theodren and Reina hard in the eyes. “You seem like nice folk, do not stay at the Blue Rose.” With that he turned back to his stable boys, barking orders as they scrambled to do his bidding.
A curious look passed between Theodren and Reina once the Stable Master was out of view. “Steina? Really?” She scoffed walking off toward the sounds of the street outside. Theodren groaned, following after her. He would likely not hear the end of that.
