Death Or Fortune (46 page)

    
Windfall and I never spoke about what he told me that night.  I wanted to
question him about the curse and if it would affect him on the ship, he later
told me that he would be fine.  I guess he could see the question on my
face.  After he left me alone in my office again that night I sat there in
the dark, thinking about the task we were about to undertake.  Of the
people going with me, it seemed like Pare and I were the only ones going
without any kind of hidden agenda.  Michaels wanted to free the entire
island, start his own personal war with an army of Orcs.  Windfall was
going into this to face his father.  I didn’t see how we were going to do
any of it with the limited people we had going with us.  I sat there with
my hands over my face telling myself over and over again.  Just come home
alive.  That was all that mattered, just get home alive.  I had too
many things to live for at home to die elsewhere.

    
As the days went by the preparations continued to progress at a steady rate; supplies
were gathered, our group was assembled and we did lots of talking.
 Talking about things we couldn't have been prepared for in a hundred
years.  We had ideas and vague notions about what was going on.  It
was all second hand information.  I wanted to trust the information we
were given by Hans and Eli.  I owe Hans my life but some days I think the
man has gone crazy.  I don’t think he was made to carry the weight of his
mantle.  Still at other times, quiet times.  When we are alone
together I see the man I knew, the man who had saved my life over and over
again. Times like that I think that I am wrong, that Hans is perfect for his
job.  I try not to think about it. Jasmin forbids me to ever say a bad
word about him as they grew close during the time I was away.  I think she
understands him a bit better than I do at times.  With Pare gone, she
clung to the only other person in my life that she knew cared about me.
 The only other person who she knew that wanted me to come home alive.

    
I got to know Sgt. Bryce a bit during this time.  I thought that since my
life may have depended on him doing his job, I should endear myself to him.
 Turk wasn't far off on what he told me about him.  He himself was a
scout for the Arcadian Army, before he fell in love with a city woman and gave
up his life in the wild.  In later days, when we were in the thick of
things I saw him out there.  I saw the way he would look at the wild life
around him.  As sure as I know there is a beating heart in my chest, I
knew that is where he belonged.  That and he moved like a ghost where
others sounded like a herd of cattle on a cobble stone street.  I think he
could have taught Windfall a thing or two about sneaking around if the spooky
bastard wasn't so good at it already.  A day or two before we left he
pulled me aside as asked me why I was going.
'I just don't get it. Why not
leave this to the troops? No point in getting yourself killed.
' I thought
for a moment he was joking but the hard look on his face told me this was
something he was serious about.  I told him that I had two reasons for
going.  First being that a good friend asked me to and sometimes in this
world, your friends are all you have.  Second, never ask a man to do
something you are not willing to do yourself.  He looked at me for what
seemed to be the longest time and then just nodded his head.  He never
asked me again.

    
The only person I didn't spend a lot of time with during the days leading up to
us leaving was Pare.  That being said it was by no effort of mine.
 More than once I went looking for him only for him to be gone.  His
travel packs were all ready to go and in a pile by the foot of his bed.  I
knew something wasn't right, it was odd that I went more than a day or two
without seeing him. As a point, he has been in my office this very day as I sit
here to write three times to ask me what I am doing.  He knows of my
writing and has taken a peek or two.  When I told him what I was writing
about today, he became silent and sullen.  Some of the pain we feel, has a
habit of returning to us when we least expect it.  We all have wounds that
reopen from time to time.  My happy halfling friend is no different.
 Truth be told, I have the same wound.  I asked Jasmin once if she
knew what he was up to the days leading up to us leaving, she just laughed at
me and told me he was out having fun.
'Hope he gets it out of his system
before you stick him on a ship for three months.'
My wife's wisdom has yet
to fail me.
     The last two days before we left were the busiest.
 Wagons were loaded with all of our gear.  Food enough to last us
there and back twice over.  I didn’t know it until we were watching
everything get loaded that Turk was sending along extra weapons and armor as
well.  If we found any of his men alive he wanted them well equipped.
 That was the day I met Ebbit and Mason.  When I first saw him, he
was standing watching the men work.  I knew right away he was a dwarf but
he was thin, closer to the size of Pare than any dwarf I had ever seen.
 Sitting next to him was what I assumed as a black dog but after a time I
knew it was a wolf.  It was the eyes that gave it away.  The two of
them just stood there watching the men work.  As I approached them, the
two of them locked their eyes on me, as if they were watching me with one mind
directing both sets of eyes.  I asked him if he was looking for someone,
since he had been standing there for so long.
    
'Yer Darmot?'
he asked me, his voice was so
deep it kind of shocked me.  I nodded at him and waited for what he had to
say.
'I work for Windfall, not all the time mind you but we have been
running together for the last five or six years. I am here to ask you, if I can
come along on your trip.
' My mind kept going back to what Pare had told me
about the time I was gone.  He told me there was a dwarf helping Windfall
but the half elf himself had never told me about him.
'I don't much care for
boats, solid ground is where my feet belong but I owe him. He never told me I
was going, which means he isn't planning on taking me, so I am here to ask you.
Take me along, I want to help.'
I asked him if he knew just what it was
that we were going to do, I told him that the odds of us coming back at all
were slim.  I fought a hill giant once, he laughed at me, the laugh coming
out of that dwarf sounded much like that.
'That pointy eared bastard is
tough to kill and I think you will all be coming back.  Yer only fighting
Orcs.  Besides, it is a good death to die in battle when you are fighting
for what is right.'
 I told him to go find Windfall and to talk to
him.  If he agreed to let the dwarf come along, I would gladly welcome
him.
     With that out of the way and the wagons loaded I returned
home for the night.  I had a full day and two nights to spend with my
wife.  I wanted to make the most of it.  What happened next wasn't
something I expected.  Not that my life had been predictable at that
point.  I returned home just as dinner was being served, the smell of
roast beef and the sound of laughing Halflings filled the air.  Jasmin,
Pare and Miri were sitting at the table.  Jasmin was at the end, Pare and
Miri were on the same side, sitting close to one another.  Truth be told I
had no idea she was still in town.
'Hiya Darmot
.' Pare shouted as soon
as he saw me. The voices in the room stopped, the two women at the table were
chatting about something before Pare shouted out to me.  I leaned over the
back of Jasmin's chair and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down beside
her.  I looked at the second halfling asking her why she was still here.
 Telling her I expected her to be gone already.
'Well Mi'lord, I have
found more than a few things to do here. To be honest, the pay here in the capital
is better than it is in other cities. The rewards are higher and Pare has been
helping me.'

     I started
to get worried. I asked her how he was helping her.  
'Well Mi'lord, he
knows his way around the city better than I do. He has been helping me find the
dark corners where the cockroaches like to hide.'
I could feel my wife
putting her hand on my leg, I did not know if she was trying to stop me or warn
me.  It was then that I noticed that Pare was a little red in the face
when I asked Miri how many cockroaches they had found?
'Well Mi'lord, just
one so far but I am sure by the time we get back there will be a lot more for
us to catch.'
The world in front of me stopped, had I not been so on edge
already I might have missed it.  I asked her what she meant when she said
‘by the time we get back.’  That is when Pare exploded right there at the
table.
'PLEASE DARMOT!'
he squealed at me.
'She fights really good
and I told her she could come help, I didn't think it would be a big deal.
Please can she go?'
The hand on my leg was getting tighter by the moment.
 I turned to look at my wife who had a slight smile on her face. 

     I told
them both that what we were going to do was very, very dangerous.
'I can
take care of myself Mi'lord.  I am more worried about Pare that is why I
want to go. Besides, he told me what you are going to do and I want to be a
part of it.'
It was then that I asked her why?
'Well Mi'lord, most folks
don't know this but I am Arcadian. I was born here and I have lived here all my
life. If there are Arcadian men out there, being held captive by a bunch of
foul smelling, dirty skinned, disgusting Orcs, I want to help.'
 I
will give her this much, she had passion.  I sat in silence looking at her
big eyes, pleading with me.  Pare was sitting in his chair with his hand
over his mouth but I could still hear him saying please, please, please over
and over again.  I reached down under the table and took Jasmin's hand
into mine where I held it tight.  I said to her, you understand we might
not make it back.  We could end up like the men who had been captured or
worse.
'Yes Mi'lord, I more than understand Mi'lord.'
Something inside
of me told me to tell her no yet I ignored it.  I told her to have her
things ready to go as we were leaving in two days.

     It was
then that it happened.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this
would happen. Pare put both his hands in the air cheering, he looked at her.
 She turned and looked to him, her arms reaching out for him.  She
placed both hands on the side of his face, leaning in.  I had never seen
anything so strange.  I think the only thing I could compare it to is
watching your child get kissed by a girl.   Hetaron's words from
Eystlund once again came to me.
'Halflings do have sex Kromwell.
' It
made me wonder just what it was that Pare was showing Miri in those dark
corners of the city.  I knew that I had made a mistake in telling her she
could come with us.  Yet the damage was done, if I changed my mind I would
have lost Pare right there.  Perhaps for all time, I don’t know, I never
want to know.  As I stood up I reminded her that she had two days to
change her mind, no one would slight her for it.  I left them all behind
at the table.  My best friend, my wife with unborn child and this strange
new halfling with eyes of green.  Words were spoken behind me and I didn’t
hear a thing.  I retreated to my cellar where I practiced my sword forms.
 Fighting the worst my mind could conjure.  At times, the demons in
my mind are much worse than they are in the flesh and much harder to kill.

     I had a
few practice blades, a dozen wooden swords and there at the end of the weapons
rack was the Nameless Blade.  Forged by Boris Sparkcatcher from a rock the
fell from the sky only to interrupt his fishing.  While it was not magical
in any way it was one of the finest swords I had ever seen.  I pulled the
weapon from its scabbard, looked at the faint light reflecting off the dark
metal blade.  It was made by a master weapon smith, not a single
imperfection could be seen.  In the dark, as I moved the blade you could
hear it cutting the air as it would cut flesh.  This blade had served me
well and I could honestly say I loved it.  That is why I passed it on to
my wife.  It would never fail her as it had not failed me.  Perhaps
one day I will pass it on to my son.  If he wants it, I will teach him as
I have been taught.  His path will be one of his own choosing, not one of
my own.  No matter what that path is, I will support him on his quest to
become what he wants.  The sweat was rolling down my back in waves when
she spoke to me.
'Darmot, make sure you take a bath before you come to bed,
I can smell you from all the way over here.'
The real world came back into
focus and I was still just in my cellar practicing with my sword.  I
returned it to the rack one more time, placed my hand on the pommel and said to
it, I will see you soon.

     Even with
the heavy curtains closed, I could tell the sun was coming up.  Outside of
my walls I could hear the city coming to life.  This was my last full day
at home as we would leave at noon on the following day to get on a ship.
 My first thought was to just spend the entire day in bed, had I been the
only one going on that ship I may have done just that. Still there were others,
more than just myself.  We were looking at a good three months at sea and
only the gods knew how much longer we were going to be on that island.  If
we even lived long after getting there.  I thought to myself, if I was the
captain of a ship heading out for a long voyage, what would I do for my crew?
 The idea came to me in slow steps but soon my mind was racing, I would
have a lot to do before I could make it happen.  By the time I knew for
sure how to go forward I was slipping out of the bed and getting dressed.
 I didn’t bother with any armor on this day, I would not need that until
later that night.  I put on my heavy cloak and slipped out of the room.
     My first stop was down the hall in Pare's room.
 The door was cracked open and I could hear the sound of Pare snoring
inside.  I pushed the door open slowly.  It was a rather strange
sight to see.  Miri was sleeping on the bed under the heavy blankets while
Pare was curled up into a ball on top of a pillow sleeping on the floor.
 They could have shared a bed and been farther apart than they were.
 I softly said his name once and they both shot up, for some reason this
made me smile.  I told Pare to come down stairs with me.  I waited
for him to get up and moving before I turned away.
'Ummm, morning Darmot'
Pare said to me when he found me waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
'It
was real late and I didn't think you would mind if Miri stayed here.'
I
asked him how many times she had been here at night since he first met her.
'Oh
pretty much every night except for one or two. We were out all night and didn't
bother to sleep.'
He looked at me like I had caught him with his hand on my
coin pouch.  I told him it was fine but he needed to have himself and her
to the Red Dragon Inn just after the sun set.
'Are you kicking us out?'
he asked me with a small quiet voice.  I told him no but just to be there.
 I also told him to take her shopping for a fine dress, something formal.
 One eyebrow shot up as he looked at me.  I told him we were going to
have a party.
     As I walked down the hall to the servant’s quarters, I
could still hear Pare yelling for Miri to wake up.  I stopped at Charles
door and before I could knock he said
'It is open my lord
.'  I told
him what I had planned and to inform my wife so she could make sure that Miss
Rivermyst was dressed correctly.
'A formal dinner for soldiers my lord?'
I could hear the disapproval in his voice until I told him I planned on having
it at the Red Dragon Inn.  After that his tone changed. While I owned the
inn, it was not part of the title of Arcadian Lord.  There for he did not
care about the place.  He would not have to answer to the next lord about
all the damage to the house should I turn up dead.  Over the years I have
grown to trust and depend on Charles, he is loyal to me beyond all doubt.
 That being said, if I was displaced or removed he would sweep me out into
the street with the rest of the trash.  I gave Charles one last order to
follow.  I could see the shock and horror in his eyes but I wasn't worried.
 I left Charles to his duties and was confident that he would complete
them as ordered.
     From there I went to see Turk.  When I arrived at
his office there seemed to a flurry of activity going on.  Sitting on my
horse I saw three men enter and exit the office just as fast.  Each one
running faster on the way out than they were on the way in.  I jumped down
from Emily's back and made my way to the wide open door.  Turk looked like
he was about to pull the rest of his hair out.  I asked him what was going
on.
'Lord Warren got word of what is going on and went to the king. 
Warren is pushing for a full scale invasion of the island.  The king is
giving the man his due and now I have to put together another invasion plan.
 The King said he wants it by noon today.  I have five hours to get
everything together and present it to Lord Warren so he can take it to the king
for consideration.  Warren also wants whatever you have planned halted
until all possible plans are brought up before the king and the thirty houses.'
I asked him where Lord Warren was.
'He is in the war room in the castle.'
I told Turk that he needed to think about what he was doing, he didn't want to
underestimate what they would need to attack that island.
'What do you
mean?'
he asked me.  I told him that whatever figures he came up with,
he should multiply everything by ten.
     No matter what Lord Warren said, there was no way the
king was going to approve an army of one hundred thousand men.
'What do I
say when Lord Warren sees this? He may be an ass but he is no fool, he will
know I just tossed this together.'
I told him that he was to say one thing
and one thing only.  It is the only way to ensure complete and total
victory.  Then remind him that it would leave most of Arcadia open to attack
for close to a year.
'Darmot, what if Warren is right. What if a complete
invasion is the only way to deal with this.'
 I was feeling sure of
myself at that moment.  Perhaps it was the interference of Lord Warren
that made me that way.  I asked Turk how long we had known each other.
'It
will be three years in the spring I believe
.' I asked him what he thought
of me after that first day we had met.  A smile started to cross his face.
'I thought for sure you were a con man after the kingdom's gold and that I
would never see you alive again.'
I told him that he had come up with a
good plan and that it would work.
'Darmot...
' I smacked my hand down on
his desk and told him that I would make it work; if for no other reason than to
stick a thorn into the side of Lord Warren.
     He started to laugh.
'Yer right, it is a good plan.
Now, I assume you came here for a reason?'
I asked him how many of the men
going with me were married. 
'Only Sgt. Bryce, why?
' That was when
I told him that he was to have himself and everyone that was going on the
mission with me at the Red Dragon Inn just after sun set.  I told him he
could have Bryce bring his wife if he so desired.
'What do you have in mind?
'
I told him it was a final briefing and we were all going to sit down and have a
good meal together.
'Should be good for moral, not a bad idea Lord Kromwell.
I'll make sure they are all there on time.'
 I told him I would see
him there and went on my way.  The next stop was the temple of Solarth.
 Windfall was already in the Red Dragon and I assumed he had a way to find
Ebbit.  If he was going to allow him to join us that is.  Of all the
people going, Windfall was the one I worried about the most.  I had never
seen him display a wide range of emotions.  I was worried about how having
his father in the mix would affect him in the long run.  Not that I was
worried about what he would do in battle, it was him having to deal with his
father that I worried about.  I honestly had no idea how we were going to
deal with a wizard that was well over a hundred years old.

     At the
temple of Solarth there were a team of young men loading crates into a small
wagon. Hans was on the front steps watching them work.  As I walked up the
steps to greet him I saw the look on his face.  He looked like he had not
slept in days.  I asked him if he was feeling ok.
'I have been having a
hard time sleeping. My god is not very happy with me I believe.  I have
been having visions, rampaging Orcs, slaughtering people.  There is
something at the core of the visions but I have not been able to see what it
is.  It is shrouded from me in a vale of darkness.
' I asked him what
he thought it meant.
'That the vision is not yet complete, that it is
something that can be avoided. How, I do not know since it is hidden from me.'
I felt helpless standing there, watching him.  It was as if he was on the
edge of a void, one missed step would send him over the edge.  I reached
out and put my hand on his shoulder.
'How can I help you my friend?'
I
told him he needed to have himself and Michaels at the Red Dragon Inn just
after sunset.  When he asked me why I told him the same thing I told Turk.
 
'I am not going Darmot, you sure I should be there. It is my fault
that this is happening.'

     I told him
that it was in no way his fault, that if anything he helped avoid something
much worse.  He started to argue with me again and told him it was an
order; not that I had any right to order him about.  He stood there with
his mouth hanging open but it soon closed and broke out into a smile. It did
not last long but it was a smile.  I then told him, that the men could use
all the blessings we could get.
'Very well my friend, I will be there.
'
I clapped him on the back one more time and started to leave.  As I
reached the bottom of the steps he called out to me.
'Darmot, I know where
it is.
' I looked at him and asked what he was talking about.
'The
visions, I know where it is.  The Orcs I see are on the streets of
Eystlundtowne
.'  I felt a small chill crawl up my backside and settle
in my brain.  The Orc army would attack Eystlund if we failed to stop
them. That was the only thing I could think.  I asked him if he was sure.
'Aye
my friend, I would know the kings castle, even if it was half destroyed.'
 The chill started to form around my heart.  He said this was
something we could avoid yet I felt as if I was about to dig my own grave.
 I smiled at the cleric one last time before I turned away.
     While I was riding to the Red Dragon Inn I thought
about what Hans had just told me. I wasn't sure what to make of it.
 Hetaron during his life had been prone to visions, sometimes they would
help.  Other times they did nothing more than make him doubt himself.
 At some point I decided that I would only worry about what it is that I
can see and worry about the future when it gets here.  At the Red Dragon I
found the men I wanted sitting down together.  Windfall still in the
thread bare black clothes was sitting with Ebbit and Mason was curled up in a
ball under the table.  Zackary however I wasn't looking for but it would
seem he was looking for me. I was not two feet inside the door when I saw him
coming towards me.  He had a look on his face I had not seen in some time,
'So what, am I not good enough for yea anymore
.' My brain was still
trying to process his speech when he first hit me.  I crashed back out of
the door and into the street outside of the inn.  I've seen Zackary clean
knock out men before with one punch.  I know his heart wasn't in it.
'I
will show yea, I've not lost my way
.'  I stood there in the street as
he approached me with his giant hands curled up into fist.
    
'Goin off ta fight a bloody war and yea think yea
can leave me behind, ova my dead body
.'  I stood there and watched
him, I did not move I kept my hands down by my side.  The big man yelled
at me to put my hands up, I told him I would not fight him.  I could smell
the ale on his breath.
'Why did ya not ask me laddy? Tis an insult, I shood
be thare with you.
' I took a moment to look back at the inn, Windfall was
standing in the door with an amused look on his face.  He was holding back
Linda who was trying to watch with both hands over her face.
'Why?
' he
asked me again.  I told him that I had two very good reasons, one we were
going to spend three months on a ship at the very least.  I then told him
that I owed someone a favor and this was it.  He dropped his ham like fist
and looked at me.  I asked him if he loved Linda.
'Like a dwarf loves
his ale. Aye laddy, more den life.
' I walked forward and put my arms around
him.  I whispered in his ear, I have already killed one of her husbands,
don't make me do it again.  The longer I held him the more it sank in.
'Ok
laddy, I understand yea now. But ya still should have bloody well asked me.'
I clapped him on the back and told him that next time I would call on him.
     I tried not to laugh as Linda came running out to him,
smacking him with her bar rag for doing something stupid.   She then
turned to me and told me how sorry she was.  I told her she had nothing to
worry about but I did have something to tell her.  I told her that the inn
was going to be closed for the night but we were going to have a private party.
 I told her to round up any of the girls that were not working and to get
them in.  Then to have the cook make a meal for thirty people.  They
were to have everything set up and ready to go at sun set that day.  Once
she had her orders she took off at a run, dragging Zackary behind her.  I
told myself that I would do my best to keep a sword out of his hand until the
day he was married, that much I did do.  I went back inside to speak with
Windfall.  As I sat down at the table it was all he could do to keep from
laughing at me.
'So, why didn't you ask him to come along?'
he asked me.
 I told him I didn't want to ask him to do something he would have felt
honor bound to agree to after Linda had already asked me not to take him.
 I then asked him why he didn't ask Ebbit to come along.
    
'This is personal, there won't be any pay in it for
him. That is why
.' The dwarf let out a long deep growl that could have come
from the wolf under the table.
'You know that doesn't matter to me ya pointy
eared bastard.
' It was my turn to laugh at the half elf.  
'I am
going, he already agreed that you folks will need me. My clan has a blood debt
against Orcs, where ever they may be for taking over our ancient homeland. So
if I get a chance to gut me an Orc or ten, that is all the payment I need.'
I had been told the story about how the Orcs took over the dwarven mountain
kingdom.  I've often thought about how someone should do something about
that, if ever given the right chance I still might.  I stood up from the
table and told them that they were to be dressed and ready to have dinner just
after sun set.
'I am sorry my lord but we are just humble servants, we are
not equipped for such an event and must refuse.'
Windfall said to me. I
told him to wear his armor or to buy something else but I wanted them both
there.  I then told him that anyone that wasn't there would get left on
the docks in Rohloff when we set sail.  That seemed to end any arguments
the half elf had.
     From there I had nothing to do for the rest of the day
but wait for the sun to set.  I had set the plans in motion.  Waiting
was all I had left to do.  Waiting and polishing my armor.  I also
pulled out something I had not used in sometime.  Not since the last time
I left home that is.  I cleaned up my rank pins that I used on my cloak.
 I didn't have much use for them and most lords do not walk around with
military rank on their clothing.   That being said, I figured people
needed to be reminded of who I was, that the stories were real.  More than
anything I needed their respect. While most of the men who were going with us
fought in the war, none of them were among my rag tag bunch.  None of them
saw us as we defeated a force twice our size, then ran to bolster the ranks of
those who marched under the standard of the king.  Honestly, looking back
I still don't believe what happened that day.  From the very beginning to the
bitter, bitter end when we came home that night in the pouring rain.
 Heroes we were called, I would almost trade it all to have Arturo here
today.  I hope to one day finish the fight that cost him his life.
 To find the Messiah and put him in the ground for taking the life of the
most honorable man I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.