Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 (19 page)

Every time she left the house, she looked for any sign that someone was nearby. Even now, sitting at the table, she continued to glance out the windows. Bart felt bad that his presence was causing problems, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He did come to the decision that when Riyan and Chad returned with his share of the coins, that he was going to leave Quillim. It was no longer safe for him here.

Once he finished eating, he thanked her for the meal and returned to bed. He still needed to lean on Riyan’s staff to get there, but at least he no longer had to bother her with helping him.

Sometime after the sun went down the sheep outside began stirring. Not like they were alarmed by the presence of a predator or anything, just making noises. Bart didn’t think too much about it, for to him the sheep always seemed to be making noise of one kind or another.

He was almost asleep when the bedroom door opened and Riyan’s mother poked her head in. The worried look on her face gave him cause for concern. “There’s someone out there,” she whispered.

His concern flared into full blown alarm at her words. Glancing to the bedroom window, all he could see was blackness. Turning back to her he asked, “Are you sure?” She nodded silently.

“Blow out that candle,” he said to her quietly. When she blew it out, the room was plunged into darkness and at the window next to the bed was the moon shrouded silhouette of a man looking in.

“Get to your room and bar the door!” Bart yelled as the man broke the window.

Riyan’s mother screamed and fled down the hall.

As Bart rolled off the bed away from the window, he grabbed the leather pack and the two darts lying on top. He hit the floor just as the man was passing through the broken frame.

“Bartholomew Agreani,” the man said as he came fully into the room. A glint of light flashed off the weapon the man held in his hand. “The time has come.” In the darkness, Bart could see the man move around the bed on his way to where he was laying.

Bart took one of his darts and threw it. The dart flew true and struck the man in the shoulder. Pain caused the man to cry out as he pulled it from his flesh. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be,” the man told him.

Then the man cried out again as another dart struck him in the chest. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he cried as he came forward and raised his sword.

Bart kicked out and took the man in the leg. It didn’t break anything but it did cause him to stumble backwards a step.

“Now…” the man said then paused a moment. He shook his head as if to clear it before he raised his sword again. “Now…it’s…” Unable to continue, the man dropped to one knee and the sword fell from his grip.

Bart sat up and scooted back against the wall, all the while keeping an eye on the man before him. Placing his back firmly against the wall, he braced himself and began working his way up to a standing position. By the time he was erect, the man had completely collapsed to the floor. Removing another of the darts from the leather pack, he made his way to the hall.

The silence in the house was absolute. He listened for any indication that another intruder was present, but aside from the normal noise of the sheep, there was only silence.

He worked his way down to the front room and then over to the door leading into Riyan’s mother’s room. The house was dark. When he reached the door, he tapped upon it. “Kaitlyn,” he said softly, “it’s Bart.”

There wasn’t an immediate answer so he knocked one more time. “It’s me, Bart.

Everything’s alright.”

Then from the other side he heard the bar being lifted and the door started to open.

“He’s gone?” she asked once the door was opened a crack.

“No,” replied Bart, “but he won’t be bothering us again.”

“Did you kill him?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She opened the door fully. “Are there any others?”

“I haven’t seen anyone,” he said. “He may have been working alone.” He stepped aside as she passed into the front room. She was but a shadow as she made her way through the house to the room where the man lay.

She picked up the candle again and was about to light it when Bart told her it might not be a good idea. “He could have had someone working with him,” he explained. “They do that sometimes.”

Placing the unlit candle back on the table, she turned her head back toward him and asked, “Who are ‘they’?”

“I’m pretty sure he came from Wardean,” he said.

Moving into the hall, she asked, “What do they want with you?”

“I was on the wrong side in a power struggle you might say,” he explained. “I and others have been marked for death. I understand there’s a reward offered for my demise.”

“I see,” she said. Entering the room, she glanced over to the shattered window through which the man made his entrance. Bart followed her and had one of his darts clutched in his hand in the event of another attack.

She moved around the bed to where the man lay sprawled out across the floor. In the dark he was nothing but a vague shadow. With her foot she nudged him to see if he would respond. When he didn’t, she bent down and turned him over onto his back. After a brief examination she turned towards Bart and said, “He’s dead.” Bart didn’t answer, just stood there while she gazed up at him. She finally stood up when he failed to answer. “How are we to find out if there’s another person out there?”

“I’ll go check,” he replied. “Stay in your room.”

“You can barely walk,” she stated.

“I can walk well enough for this,” he said. Then with the staff in hand, he left the room and headed for the front door. Once there, he cracked it open slightly and gazed out. No shadows moved in the moonlight. The sheep were behaving normally which was a good sign.

He opened the door and slipped out. For several minutes he did a circuit around the home until he was sure there was no one else out there. Then returning back into the house, he informed Riyan’s mother that the man had come alone.

“Is it safe for us to have light now?” she asked.

“Yes, I think so.”

She lit the candle on the table, then picked up a second and lit it from the flame of the first. “Here,” she said as she offered him the second candle.

“Thanks,” he told her as he took the candle. “We better get the man outside and hidden before someone comes looking for him. If they find out that he was killed in this house, you and Riyan will be marked for death as well.” A grim expression came over her as she turned her face towards him. He could tell that her opinion of him was getting worse by the minute. But she nodded and between them, they managed to drag the dead man out of the house and into the hills. She returned to the house for a shovel and then began digging a grave in a copse of trees. Before they put his body into the grave, Bart removed everything from the man’s pockets and anything else of value he had including the scabbard for the sword still laying on the bedroom floor.

It was some time before the work was completed and they returned to the house. “I’m sorry I brought this trouble to your door,” he said once they were back inside and sitting at the table. Laid out upon the table before him were the items he liberated from the man’s pockets.

She didn’t respond, just gave him a meaningful look.

“I don’t think he would have told anyone what he was doing before he came here,” he said. “He wouldn’t have wanted to take the chance on anyone else beating him to the reward.”

“How much is the reward?” she asked.

“I’m not exactly sure,” he admitted. “But I would hazard a guess it’s more than a thousand golds.”

Her eyes widened at the figure. “That is quite a sum,” she said. He only nodded in reply. They sat there while he went through the items laid out before him, but there was nothing that indicated who the man was.

Finally she asked him, “How did you manage to kill him?”

“Poisoned dart,” he replied. “When you told me someone was in town looking for me, I prepared some just in case. Turned out to be most fortuitous.”

“Yes, it did,” she agreed. Then she stood up abruptly. “I’m going to bed.”

“Hope you sleep well,” he told her.

She paused there a moment before saying, “You too.” He sat there at the table thinking over the ramifications of the man showing up here.

Could he have told someone where he was going? And if so, would there be other attacks? Bart wasn’t sure. The only thing he did know for certain was that he needed to leave before trouble came calling again.

In the morning, Chad and Riyan slept late as the rigors of the past few days had definitely taken their toll. When they finally arose, the sun had already been up for a couple hours. Taking their packs with them, they headed downstairs and were soon enjoying a breakfast of chicken and eggs.

Halfway through their meal Riyan flagged down the serving lady. “Yes?” she asked as she approached their table.

“I was wondering if you could direct us to Dulcet Street?” he said.

She pointed out the window. “There it is.”

“You mean it runs right in front of here?” he asked.

Nodding her head, the lady replied, “That’s right.”

“Thank you,” Riyan said with a smile. She flashed him a smile too before returning to her work.

Once they finished eating, they located the lady who gave them their room key the night before and made their way over to her. “Excuse me ma’am,” Riyan said.

She looked up from making a notation in a book and gave them a friendly smile. “Are you leaving this morning?” she asked.

“Afraid so,” he replied. After returning the key to her, he said, “We have business in town before we head out. I was wondering if it would be alright for us to leave our horse in your stable for a couple hours?”

“Sure,” she said. “We’re not full and I don’t think it will be a problem.”

“Thank you,” Chad said to her.

“You’re most welcome,” came the reply. “If you ever find yourselves in Wardean again, I hope you choose to stay here.”

Riyan grinned and nodded. “We will.”

Turning away from her, they made their way out into the street. They looked up one way then down another, both directions were busy and crowded. “Which way?” Chad asked.

Shrugging, Riyan said, “One way’s as good as another.” So stepping out, they headed down to their left and entered the throng on the streets.

“Pretty crowded here,” commented Chad.

“I know,” Riyan said just as he was bumped into by a lady going the other way. After traveling down four blocks with no luck, they finally asked directions of a local and were soon to realize they had been going in the wrong direction.

Turning around, they worked their way back through the mass of people on the street.

They passed by the Silent Shepherd and after another three blocks, the building they were told by the man contained Thyrr’s shop came into view. More than thankful to leave the river of people on the street behind, they stepped up to the door and entered.

Inside they found a typical chandler’s shop selling a variety of goods people would find useful. A man was situated behind a counter going over a ledger while a woman was looking through bolts of fabric. The man looked up as they entered and gave them a once over before returning to his ledger.

“That must be Thyrr,” stated Chad.

“You think?” asked Riyan. He then moved towards the man who again looked up and noticed them crossing the shop. Closing the ledger, he grinned them a welcome.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked.

Riyan nodded and set his pack on the counter. “Are you Thyrr?” he asked.

“That’s right,” the man affirmed.

He then opened his pack and said, “A friend sent me.” Pulling forth the dart, he laid it on the counter between them.

Thyrr glanced to the lady and said in a hushed tone, “Put that away!” Riyan quickly returned the dart to his pack.

Nodding over to a table set against the wall at the back of the store, he said, “Have a seat. I’ll be with you when I can.” He then nodded his head meaningfully towards the lady.

Understanding what he meant, Riyan and Chad moved over to the table and took their seats. The table was out of the direct view of the door, but they could see the area of the store where the lady was looking through the fabric. They waited for what must have been over ten minutes before she finally settled on the cloth she wanted. Once she paid for it and had left the store, Thyrr came over to the table.

“Sorry about that,” he said, “can’t be too careful you know.”

“We understand,” replied Riyan.

“What do you have?” he asked.

Opening his pack, Riyan pulled out several of the silver coins and showed them to him. “Our friend said you might be able to take these off our hands for a fair price,” he said.

“How is he?” Thyrr asked. “Haven’t seen him for some time.”

“He’s well,” Chad said.

“Good, good.” Thyrr took one of the coins and closely examined it. “I haven’t run across these for some time.”

Surprised, Riyan asked, “You’ve seen them before?” Thyrr turned his attention back to the friends and nodded. “They turn up from time to time,” he replied. “It’s been almost thirty years now since the last person found a cache of these. His were mostly copper though.”

“Are they worth much?” Chad asked expectantly.

“Oh yes,” he replied. “How many do you have?”

“Three hundred and seventy of the silver,” Riyan told him. He nodded to Chad who produced the gold chain. “We also have this gold chain and several gems too.”

“Must have found the King’s Horde,” Thyrr joked.

“King’s Horde?” asked Chad.

“You two have never heard the story of the King’s Horde?” he asked.

They both shook their heads.

“Supposedly there’s this horde of treasure buried in the mountains hereabouts that’s guarded by an army of the dead,” he explained. Both Chad and Riyan glanced at one another at mention of the army of the dead. The corpses lying on the biers in The Crypt could be construed as just that.

“You see, long ago before the people who now live here arrived from the east, there existed a kingdom of men,” he explained. “No one knows what happened to them or who they were.” He held up the coin. “But these have been found all over the place among ruins of that lost kingdom.”