The rest of the day went uneventfully. Since Bandit’s secret was out, she acted as a guide and could easily lead us around dangerous places. Sometimes she heard about dangerous creatures lurking ahead from the birds and squirrels and made sure we steered clear of them. We also had little chance of getting lost because Bandit could fly above the trees and point us in the right direction. She had turned into quite a valuable party member.

  We camped for the night, taking turns at watch duty as usual. The next morning, we got up and had breakfast. Bandit assured us that the city was only a half day of travel away at the most. It would be a relief to get clean again. After wearing armor all that time, I was starting to smell like the demon.

  True to her word, we had only marched three hours before we walked through the tree line of a pasture within sight of the city. The farmland around the city sloped downward gently to the sea, and the city occupied a slightly raised area adjacent to the ocean and surrounded by high stone walls. The city was made mostly of red brick with roof tiles made of fired clay that was a little darker than the bricks most houses were made of. Some of the houses had their bricks painted white. It looked like a charming place, as far as cities went. There was a small castle with sturdy stone walls on the highest point in town. The usual haze of cookfires was blown away by the sea breeze, making this a pleasant place. They didn’t even have a strok in sight.

  We walked to the gates on a small path through the fields that led to a slightly bigger dirt road. Bandit was nowhere to be seen, though she was probably close by. Bran thought wisely that carrying his sword in his hands would cause trouble with the guards, so he had it stuck behind his backpack with one guard on the hilt hanging from a shoulder strap. It was awkward, but it worked for the brief time we needed to look less threatening. The other people who came and went through the gates were clearly local farmers who didn’t get a second glance from the four guards stationed there. We casually walked over.

  “State your business,” a guard said to us.

  “We’re just passing through,” Bran said. “We need to hire a boat. Do you know of any captains likely to take on passengers?”

  The guard seemed to grow bored again when he saw we were no threat, armored or not. “You can ask around. The harbor master’s in the whitewashed brick building near the center of the docks. You’ll see the sign.” He waved us through.

  “Thanks. Good day,” Bran said.

  We entered unhindered. I shared a glance with Mira, and it seemed she was thinking the same thing I was, that the guards didn’t even charge us for admittance. Strange, that. Maybe they had kinder customs here. Well, you wouldn’t hear me complaining about that, so I just shrugged at Mira, and we walked on in.

  The city was bustling with activity. It looked a little bigger than Stonekeep, but not by much. With us safely (or so we assumed) in the city, Mira walked to the head of our group. Bran let her lead without a word. We all knew that she had a lot of experience in sizing people and places up and could spot a crook a mile away. Mira led us through the city to an inn close to the docks called the Siren’s Rest. It was in good repair compared to a couple of other establishments we passed by. We walked inside and found ourselves in a comfortable common room with only a few locals drinking. The innkeeper was behind a counter polishing a mug as barkeepers always did. It was an old trick. It kept the man close enough to serve quickly but occupied enough that he wasn’t just standing there staring awkwardly at his patrons.

  “Welcome to the Siren’s Rest!” he said with enthusiasm. “I’m Bomar. Can I get you anything? Lunch will be ready soon. A drink or a room, perhaps?”

  “We need two adjoining rooms, please, Bomar,” Mira said sweetly.

  “Certainly! Ah, will you require bunk beds in your rooms or a double sized bed?” Bomar asked discreetly.

  “Bunk beds, please, and hot baths,” Mira replied. “What’s for lunch?”

  “Fish stew, house specialty,” Bomar said amiably. “Four guests, so it’ll be one royal for the lunch and the two rooms, please.”

  Mira reached into a pouch on her backpack and produced a gold coin, which she gave to Bomar. He gave her two keys.

  “By the way, what city is this?” Mira asked.

  “Why, Seacrown, of course,” Bomar said with a sideways look. “Lunch’ll be ready in an hour. Your rooms are numbers three and four upstairs, as noted on the keys. The bath chamber’s at the end of the hall. I’ll get some fresh water and warm it for you. Lunch after baths?”

  Mira nodded. “Our thanks, sir,” she said.

  She led the way upstairs and we looked over the rooms. There were only eight rooms upstairs, and ours were at the back of the inn, closest to the stairs. The bathroom had two copper tubs in it with a bar of soap and fresh towels. Mira handed Bran a key with a four on it, which was closest to the stairs.

  “I think we’ll use the tubs first,” Mira said. “You guys will foul the water, I think.”

  “Ouch,” I said. She must still be sore after the bathing incident, so I let her have her victory. “Please don’t take all day.”

  The girls unlocked their room and went in to settle in. Bran and I went into our room, and to keep the peace, I paused to let Bran pick a bunk. He chose the top bunk, setting his pack down on it and then loosening the straps of his helmet. Plate armor was nearly impossible to put on by yourself, so we helped each other in that regard as usual. It was good to get out of the armor, too. While we waited, we cleaned and oiled our gear, which always took a while when you did it right. We had fresh clothes in our packs, and we planned to wear those today after washing the grime out of our gambesons and such. Mira and Elle were mercifully quick about washing, and we took our turn when we heard them close the door to their room and give two thumps on the wall. They were right about us fouling the water, too.

  We finished with our baths, hurriedly washed our dirty clothes, then got dressed in the fresh clothes. We hung our stuff on the boards of the bunk beds. Bran saw me get out my money pouch from my pack, and hook it through my belt, so he did the same. I checked the window to be sure it was locked, as plate armor like ours was worth a small fortune. Then we retrieved the girls, who looked to be putting the finishing touches on oiling their swords. We all went downstairs and sat down at a table for lunch.

  Bomar brought us mugs of milk and then plates of fish stew with a loaf of fresh bread. The four of us devoured the meal without talking much, as soldiers usually did. The stew was very good, but it seemed even more so because of the trail rations we’d been eating. Now that we were full, I felt it was time to discuss our plan.

  “Any thoughts on how to proceed?” I asked.

  “I need to buy a proper scabbard,” Bran said.

  “I think I can find passage for us on a ship,” Mira said.

  “All right. Why don’t we split up?” I suggested. “Mira and I can find a ship and you and Elle can shop for a scabbard.”

  “Sounds fine to me,” Elle said. “I’d like to see the city anyway.”

  “I think we should be armed,” Mira said. “I noticed a lot of people here carried swords on them while in their civilian clothes. They must have a reason.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Suits me,” Bran said. “Meet back here in a couple hours?”

  “Sure. See you then,” I said.

  We retrieved our weapons of choice from our rooms, then split up. Mira and I started walking the two blocks to the docks.

  “Where’s Bandit, anyway?” I asked.

  “I don’t know exactly. She comes and goes where she wills. She was at the room with us briefly, so she knows where we’re staying,” Mira said. “She likes to explore on her own and sometimes causes trouble that it’s best we’re not close to.” Mira grinned at that.

  “She’s been your best friend for a number of years now, I’d guess,” I said. “I was wondering how you got along for companionship sometimes.”

  “Yeah, we’re pretty close,” Mira admitted. “You and your family have been very close to me too, you know. My own family isn’t so pleasant to be around. Not since the chamber pot incident, anyway.”

  We both laughed at that. I had heard the story in great detail. Mira smiled at me. I really liked her smile. She had nice skin, too. We walked in comfortable silence to the first pier. Mira spoke with the captain of the harbored vessel there, but he wasn’t leaving again until next week. Mira thanked him for his time, and we moved on to the next pier. So it went, from pier to pier down the whole length of the docks. Very few were planning to leave in the next day or two, and no one wanted to hire their ship out to anyone who was going to the Sunset Islands. They all looked at us like we were crazy for wanting to go there. Apparently, the place had a reputation with the locals, a reputation which I happened to know was well deserved.

  There was a dry dock at the end of the piers where a ship was being built. The ship wasn’t nearly ready yet, but Mira pointed out a smaller cog with obvious hull damage. It looked like someone had rammed a rock or something and had broken the keel and a few planks on the front of the vessel. Other than that, it was a very functional vessel. It was around fifty feet long and it had a single mast with a square sail that was currently furled. It looked like it had plenty of room for cargo in a hold below the deck. Currently it was half ashore, its front end jutting up out of the water onto the sandy beach to keep it from flooding.

  “You think you can fix that?” Mira asked me.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “All the pieces are still there.”

  An older man with a sea weathered face saw us looking at the boat. “That boat’s only good for kindling now.” He spat to the side.

  “That’s too bad,” Mira said. “Looks like it would’ve had a lot of use left in it.”

  “Aye, it’s only three years old. Makes me sick, it does. My boneheaded boy and his friends ran aground on a rock trying to get into a cove with their girlfriends. Now it takes on water with every wave.”

  “What would you sell it for?” Mira asked.

  “You’d buy that? Are you out of your… ahem. A thousand gold coins, and not a copper less,” the old sailor said with a poker face.

  Mira thought about it. “All right, you’ve got a deal. I’ll bring the money tomorrow morning. Is it ready to sail?”

  “Aye, it is. Though with a broken keel, I doubt you’ll be getting very far with the high waves in tomorrow’s rain, so you know.” The man said with honesty.

  “Fair enough,” Mira said. “Who around here runs the best provisions supply house?”

  “That’d be Fisher and Sons, right over there. Can’t miss it.” He said pointing at a place on the street fronting the docks.

  “Our thanks, good sir. We’ll see you tomorrow morning!” Mira said happily.

  We walked away, going back down the street towards the supply house as the old man was left scratching his head.

  “That went well,” Mira said. “It’s a broken vessel, but we didn’t have many choices. It’s a lot cheaper than buying a new boat, too. All in all, I think we got that one for a song.”

  “Who’s going to sail it?” I asked.

  “We are, of course. Don’t be daft.”

  “None of us knows a single thing about sailing, Mira. The sea can be dangerous, especially in the rain. We’ll probably never even get out of the harbor.”

  “Bah. You sound like an old woman.” Mira poked me in the ribs, then gestured to the sailors around us. “These idiots can do it. How hard can it be?”

  Famous last words, I thought. I had the feeling we would find out the hard way how difficult it could be. I kept my mouth shut, though. I didn’t want to sound like an old woman, after all. We walked into Fisher and Sons to buy provisions for the journey. Mira made pretty short work of it by letting Mr. Fisher tell us exactly what we needed for our new boat. She only inserted that we needed two sets of shovels, axes, and pickaxes. Mira was also very gracious to let me pay for it all. That was kind of her, I thought sarcastically, but I played along. She smirked a little as I counted out a hundred and twenty gold coins. It was nearly all that I had on me, but fortunately I had enough. We arranged to have it all loaded on our derelict boat in the morning, then we took our leave. It was about dinner time, so we went back to the Siren’s Rest.

  -----

  Bran and Elle walked together towards the center of the city. It was a beautiful day, and the good meal they had just eaten had put them both in a pleasant mood. They meandered through the pedestrian traffic until they found the marketplace where the majority of the merchants in the city did their business. If they didn’t have a stall in the market itself, then Bran knew a swordsmith would have a smithy or shop close by. People here did seem a bit on the rough side to Bran’s eye. Nearly everyone wore a sword of some kind, and many of the men had dueling scars on their tanned cheeks. Bran noticed how the more rugged of them eyed his sword, which he had to slide between his pants and belt. He started to get a bit nervous and decided to get to a weapon shop as soon as possible. Fortunately, they found one only a few minutes later.

  Upon entering the shop, Bran could tell the proprietor knew what he was doing. The weapons were stored in such a way that they were well organized by length and covered every rack and almost every bit of wall space. Bran felt at home here among the weapons and smell of oil.

  “Welcome! Welcome!” the proprietor said. “I‘ve not seen you here before. My name’s Gillmor. What can I do for you?”

  “I have need of a scabbard for this,” Bran said without drawing his weapon.

  “Ah, so beautiful!” Gillmor said. His eyes widened briefly, and he suddenly became a bit more tense. With a guarded tone, he said, “May I examine it?”

  “Of course,” Bran said. He brought to mind some of the techniques Dortham had taught him about the unarmed subdual of an armed attacker and kept his balance carefully.

  The sword glowed with a soft, golden light the moment Bran laid a hand on it. He slowly drew the holy sword from his belt, trying not to alarm Gillmor or cut himself in the process. Bran held the sword out to him with two hands. Gillmor took it in hand, and the glow from the sword immediately disappeared. He looked crestfallen for a moment, then read the inscription on the sword and shifted his grip on the grip once or twice as if his fingers itched. He hurriedly returned it to Bran with a rather nervous smile on his face.

  “I have just the thing, young master!” Gillmor went to a glass case and retrieved an ornate scabbard, trimmed in gold, with rubies set in it. “Surely this is the perfect companion to such a remarkable blade. The leather was taken from the hide of a dragon. Truly majestic, is it not?”

  Bran took a look at the scabbard and knew right away that it was far out of his price range. All the coins he had wouldn’t have paid for one of the gems, much less the whole scabbard. Remembering that they had a long journey to take, he decided to keep as much of his funds about him as he could.

  “I don’t want to risk damaging such a fine scabbard in battle, sir,” Bran said diplomatically. “Although it’s clearly a masterwork, we have a long journey before us, and I think it wiser to keep my sword in a much plainer sheath.”

  Gillmor looked disappointed, but he came out from behind the case after putting the scabbard back and moved over to a display full of scabbards at the corner of his shop. “How about one of these, young master?”

  Bran moved closer to have a look. He held Vengeance, which was glowing brightly, close to each of the scabbards to get an eye for which one would fit best. Most of the scabbards were made for either a cutlass or a shortsword, but there were a few made for larger weapons. Bran chose one of the plainest ones, with only a brass locket and chape, and made from sturdy leather.

  “This one’ll do. How much?” Bran asked.

  Gillmor let out his breath in a sigh of pure disappointment. “That one will be two gold royals,” he said in a monotone.

  “Fair enough,” Bran said. He pulled the required payment out of his pouch and handed them to Gillmor.

  “My pleasure, young master. I only humbly beg that you remember my fine wares should you decide to display your sword with a scabbard worthy of it.”

  “Of course, I will. Thanks, Gillmor.”

  Bran hung the scabbard properly from his belt and put Vengeance into it as quickly as he could. He was unused to having such a magnificent weapon and felt very conspicuous with every eye in the city locked onto it. Elle was waiting close to the door. He joined her and they both left the shop together.

  “A wise choice, Bran,” Elle said. “I could tell you really wanted the nice one.”

  “I really did. I could hear dad’s words ringing in my ears about being responsible with my money, though. I wish he wasn’t always right.”

  Bran and Elle had only taken a dozen more steps down the street when they were approached by a rather plain looking man. He didn’t have any visible weapons on him, and his manner of dress was very humble. He was an older man with graying brown hair and a rugged, but kind, set to his face.

  “Excuse me, please. Do you have a moment?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Elle replied. “How can we help you, sir? Do you need money?” Elle probably still didn’t know anything about professional beggars. She was innocent by choice, and it was one of the things Bran liked the most about her.

  “I was wondering if you’re a worthy bearer of the sword you wear,” he said cryptically.

  “Yes, in fact I am,” Bran said humbly.

  “Then you may be interested in seeing what’s happening over there,” he said, pointing down the street.