Tycoon May: Chapter 23 (Patreon)

Chapter 23

Grant emerged into the back courtyard and was immediately shoved to the side by the familiar muscular figure of Evander.  Grant gripped his Uchigatana, ready to cut off his offending hand, when the big man erupted into laughter.

“Ha!  I just lost four Hours.  You were right, Adria.  He did show up.  After yesterday, the guy must have a seed pouch big enough to plant a whole field of eggplants to come here.”  Evander tossed a handful of coins to the dagger-wielding warrior standing next to him.  “Wanna bet on how long it takes for him to regret it?”

“I don’t know, Evander.  From the way he’s looking at you, I don’t know if I’d ever get my money.”  Adria nodded at where Grant’s hand was clutched tightly around the hilt of his sword.  “You might want to stop messing with him, or you’re going to regret it.”

“What, this little guy?”  Evander snorted in amusement.  “He wouldn’t hurt a fly!  Besides, I’m starting to like him.  Kinda reminds me of a lost puppy or somethin’.  Hey, maybe he can be the group mascot!”

<This man might be the worst judge of character I’ve ever seen.  Either that, or he’s so stupid his death will occur the moment he forgets how to swallow and chokes on a vegetable.>

Grant took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I’m not a mascot.  I’m a Wielder, and I need to get to Forteresse Mere.”  He ignored another snort of amusement from Evander.

“There aren’t any caravans that go there from here, but you can certainly get closer by joining up with Sam’s crew.  They’re headed in the right direction.”  Adria motioned toward a well-dressed man sitting on a tree stump near the doors to the stables at the rear of the courtyard.  There were two other men equally as well dressed standing nearby with several people clustered around them, but Sam seemed to be suffering from a lack of people applying to join.  “Want me to introduce you?”

“Sure, I would appreciate it.”  Grant quickly followed behind the rogue, trying not to be annoyed at the hulking shadow of Evander bringing up the rear.

As the trio approached the lone merchant, Grant saw the Wrecking sisters nudge one another and start to head their way.  He lost track of them as Sam stood up to shake Adria’s hand.

“Ah, Adria!  It’s good to see you.  Are you thinking of joining up?  I could certainly use a competent second to help our little wagon train make it to Pear Castle.  My last crew… didn’t finish the trip.”  Sam grimaced before he looked over her shoulder at Grant and Evander.  “I’m surprised to see your large friend.  I thought you two had split after the last incident?”

Sighing, Adria turned to motion Grant forward.  “We did split up, but that’s not why I’m here.  My young friend here wants to reach Forteresse Mere, and you looked like you could use some people who know one end of a sword from the other.”

“Ah, indeed I can.  And who is this young man?”  Sam held his hand out, and Grant shook it firmly.  He was surprised to find the well-dressed man had calluses of someone that worked hard labor.  It made Grant like him right away.  “The name’s Sam Wight, and I run the Quite Wight Right Shipping Company.”

“Nice to meet you.  I’m Grant Monday.”  He pulled his Uchigatana halfway out of its sheath, making sure it caught the early-morning sunlight along its edge.  “I would be happy to provide protection to your wagons if you can help me get to my destination.”

“Ah, a Wielder?  Do you have experience protecting wagon trains?”  Sam pointed to a train that had seven covered wagons nearly overflowing with sacks of grain.  “It can be pretty dangerous out there.”

“I have a lot of experience, trust me.”  Images of the massive wagon trains in District April ran through his head.  “I have been a roving scout, on a rapid advancement team, and a member of simple perimeter security.  I can also help with the Prairie Pullers if you need me to assist.  There isn’t much I can’t handle.”

“Ah, what?”  Sam exchanged glances with Adria.  “Where did you say you were from?”

“Most merchant trains just have a loose guard squad that surround the wagons.  You certainly didn’t learn those things as a simple guard.”  Adria took a much closer look at Grant.  “You know, I might join you after all, Sam.  I have a feeling it might be more interesting than the plans I was working on.”

“Ah, that’s great!”  Sam clapped his hands.  “We’ll need at least ten more, but with you along I’m sure people will jump to sign up.”  He motioned at Grant’s sword.  “Ah, do you mind showing us what your Wielded Weapon does?  Not that I’m questioning you or anything.  It’s just best we know what you can do before we go out there and get surprised by a flashy ability that distracts everyone, or attracts a bunch of extra monsters.”

“I would rather wait to show everyone what I can do until I know if I’m going to need to fight someone to join up, like the inn owner told me last night.”  Grant looked over in time to see a large group of prospective guards come through the door of the inn into the courtyard.  “Like them.”

“Oh, no need to be afraid!”  Evander slapped Grant on the back hard enough to leave a faint palm-shaped dent in his armor.  “You can get it over with and fight me right now.  I promise to go easy on you, kid.”

Adria shook her head at her former partner.  “Evander, you are just as dense as I remember.  You would lose that fight in less than two exchanges.”

“Ha!  Two?  How in the Sword Saints of Sunny Snowbirds do you figure that?  I’m twice the size of the kid!”  Evander flexed his muscles and hefted his hammer.  “And my war maul is the best copy of April Third’s weapon ever made!”

“This isn’t about your vaunted status as a Vassal, or a measure of strength.  It’s about demonstrated ability.”  She pointed at the ground where Grant’s footprints were settled into the cobblestones of the courtyard.  They were outlined by a series of thin cracks left by the impact of him holding his ground when Evander slapped him.  “You didn’t even notice that he already showed you up.”

The oversized warrior took a moment to realize what she was saying.  It was obvious when he realized what he was looking at because the color quickly left his cheeks as he backed away from Grant.  “Woah.  I-I didn’t realize.  Uh, no hard feelings, right kid?  I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“See?  I told you it was a good idea to stick around.”  Geneva walked up with Kristen, interrupting their group before Grant could answer.  She walked up to Sam and stuck her hand out.  “We’re the Wrecking Sisters, and we’d like to join up with your group.  Would you like us to demonstrate our abilities?”

“Ah, that won’t be necessary.”  Sam shook her hand with an easy smile.  “I’ve heard about the exploits of you two before.  Welcome to the team.”

Kristen immediately went to Adria and the pair gave each other a quick fist bump.  “It’s good to see you again.  You haven’t gotten up to any new tricks, have you?”  Kristen motioned to the cloak the rogue was wearing.  “The last time we saw each other, you were walking around in the clothes of a noble.”

“This isn’t the time or place for mentioning past adventures.  Why don’t we go check on the wagons while we catch up?”  Adria quickly hooked the archer’s arm and started dragging her away.  “I want to hear what happened to that handsome barber you were so infatuated with a few years ago.  Weren’t you supposed to marry him and have seven babies by now?”  Kristen was blushing furiously as the pair disappeared around the corner.

“She always knew how to keep her distracted.”  Geneva walked over to Evander and gave him a nudge.  “Good to see you again, big guy.  It’s been awhile since we were on a team together.”

Now, it was Evander’s turn to blush.  “Y-yeah, I guess it has.  How have you been?”  The large warrior took a step back from the much smaller archer.  “You look like you’re doing well.”

“Oh, you noticed?  I just picked up the new armor.  It’s much more flattering than the last set, don’t you think?”  The gleam in her eyes was almost sinister as she knowingly flustered the big man.  “Or did you like the tougher look from the last set?”

The pair walked away as Evander struggled to keep up with the quick-footed woman.  Sam watched them go, wearing a faint smile.  “I think this trip is going to be all kinds of fun.”

“How long will it take to get to the next city?  And how far from there to where I want to go?”  Grant stepped out of the indentations where his feet had been pressed into the stone.  “I have a bit of a time limit to deal with.”

“It’s, ah, only two days to the next city, but then you have another three cities to go before you reach the capital.”  Sam leaned forward a bit and lowered his voice.  “Once you get there, be sure not to say anything bad about Tycoon May, and especially don’t say anything bad about his mother.”

“His mother?”  Grant shook his head in confusion.  “Why would I care about his mother?”

“Ah, let’s just say it wouldn’t be healthy if you decided to mention she was the one who is actually in charge, or that she only married into House Thursday from House Sunday because she wanted to expand and control the spy rings that she already had in place all over the District when the Barriers formed.  I definitely wouldn’t say that.”  Sam winked at Grant, who was dumbfounded by the sudden influx of information.

“Wait, you’re saying—”

“I’m saying all the things you shouldn’t, remember?”  Sam stood up from the tree stump and stretched his back.  “Now, I think you might be up.”  Grant looked over to see the crowd of prospective guards had increased in size while he had been talking.  “Don’t mess around and draw things out.  Matches are supposed to be quick and definitive, not flashy.”  Grant nodded at Sam and turned to walk away.  “Oh, and Grant?  Good luck.”

“Thanks.”  Grant gave the merchant a thumbs up and hurried to join the ranks of warriors that were quickly forming up near the entrance to the inn.  He needed to get through the test and get on the wagon train.  Sam sounded like a fountain of information Grant could certainly use to his advantage.