Dim Prisons and Drakes, chapter 53. (Patreon)

Here is a thing. Please enjoy it. Also, it does look as if I won't be finished with my promised surprise just yet - sorry about that. Anyway, have this!

There were no horses for sale... or rather, there were, if one of us wanted to pay an exorbitant price for an animal not really worth it and leave more than half of us walking anyway. I wouldn't be doing it, but it was a free country.

Well, sort of. Was it a free country anymore?

Well, it was for me; I wasn't going to just turn my back on that promise or accept the dictates of random jerks who used to be politicians.

However, for now, the lack of horses meant we were walking yet again. At least this time, we put a peaceful village behind us. It felt pretty nice not having to put a fire of one kind or another everywhere we went.

I was sure it wouldn't last, so I was determined to enjoy the nice peaceful air for now.

The surprisingly crisp, nice, peaceful air. Winter was coming, without a doubt. Not a single one of us were dressed for it.

I mean, I was dressed warm enough for now, but it would be a problem in a few weeks. I'd need my stuff fur lined, or something.

Wait. Or I could just activate the warmth enchantments. What was I thinking? Buying winter clothes were for normal people. Plebians, even. I was beyond such mortal concerns.

"What has your nose in the air, elf?"

I turned to Ethan. Was my nose actually in the air? Had anyone else seen?

Whatever. "Cold weather, and warmth enchantments."

Ethan grumbled out an "ah," and promptly raised his nose. "I guess to one with thin blood, the weather might seem cold."

Right, of course. The little man had his arms bare this morning, same as every morning.

Matt stepped up, out of the chapter house we'd stayed in with a yawn and a stretch. "What's going on?"

"We were discussing the cold."

Matt nodded, almost to himself. "Right. It's nice, isn't it?"

Then he strode past me with a tuneless whistle, heading toward the well.

Right, with that much metal on him, he'd have an undercoat, and with that undercoat, he'd be warm. He must have been suffering badly over the waning summer months.

"I guess there is a disadvantage to not being three hundred plus pounds and made of stones."

Ethan smiled and nodded. "And don't you forget it. You alright? You seem to lack... fire, this morning."

"Get bent." Admittedly, nothing was my best work today, but he took me by surprise! They couldn't all be winners!

Ethan seemed to taste that one a bit before he raised a finger and drew a line in the air. Yeah, yeah, point to you.

Karl stepped out, and stretched much like Matt had. "Good, you two are here. You eat already?"

"Yes." I hadn't really, but I wasn't eating what those knights called breakfast. I mean wow, how were they not dead? Just looking at that soupy slop had made me green.

It was odd that Ethan had felt the same way. Well, that and he'd been up before me. I wasn't sure how much sleep he'd actually had, but I was willing to bet it wasn't much. Still, he seemed fine for now.

Everyone else showed up, with Les last. We all headed to the well, by mutual unspoken agreement.

The water was sweet and clear, and more than a little cold. Refilling our canteens was easy enough.

"So..."

"Not long now," Karl answered before I could get the question out. "A week's walk, if we hurry."

There was no doubt we would be hurrying. "Then let's go."

Thomas took that opportunity to disappear; heading out and up along the road we'd be taking. I sent Poe up with a thought, to both help him and to keep him company.

For once, Phil was right here with us, and showed no sign of going anywhere. I was betting it was the presence of heavily armed men with serious stares forcing him to stick to us, but it worked out for us in the long run.

"Yeah, let's."

There was no committee, there was no acrimony, no one at all cared to watch us leave. We were simply out of the village with many the wiser, but everyone silent. Well, there were some waves, which I returned to be friendly, but no shouting or anything crazy.

It was nice.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, little animals were rustling in the clearly managed or manicured fields, and all seemed right with the world.

It was nice.

But it was weird. Was I really so used to everything and everyone trying to kill me? This was actually making me more on edge.

"Weird, isn't it? The difference between one side of the forest and the other. Even though both sides are supposedly patrolled."

Les had a point. "Yeah, it is. It feels like something is up."

"I know what you mean," the man replied. "just got to tough it out."

Poe saw something. Thomas hadn't yet, but he would. "A dozen armed and armored men."

Knights, clearly, in gleaming and polished armor, heading down the road toward us at a canter. Their heads were fixed firmly straight ahead.

"How close?"

"They'll reach us in about fifteen."

Thomas sent up his signal at that moment, the arrow arcing over us in a disturbing spasm of sound due to the weird fletching. He really was a good shot, to put that over us without a single look back.

Karl stepped to the side of the road, and we all joined him. It was best not to impede horsemen on a road; you never knew if they'd see you or not.

The knights didn't do more than glance at us as they sped past. One did wave, but they didn't stop; just heading directly to the village.

"Muse."

"Yeah?"

"Can you send Poe back to the village for a bit?" Karl stepped back on the road. Which was fine; it was clear.

So Karl was paranoid too. Good. Well, maybe. "Sure."

"Thanks."

The mounted knights were meeting the other knights; they had been let right in, and the meeting was apparently peaceful. There wasn't even a single harsh word being used. The villagers didn't seem concerned either.

I gave Karl a thumbs up once I caught him looking - and what was that look supposed to mean? Something was up.

I wouldn't know what it was until later; Karl wouldn't say anything in front of all of us, even if we tried to use wild horses to drag it out of him.

Travel with a guy too long, and you begin to understand them. Even Randolf.

"Let's get going," was all that Karl said, and we suited action to his words.

I pulled Poe back and sent him back ahead.

The day warmed up, but other than that, it stayed boring. We were able to cover a lot of ground on the wonderfully even and cobbled road. The thing barely had a real bump in it, and showed some loving work by whatever road crew dealt with this stretch of real estate.

All this meant the next village on the road was hit even easier than we were warned about. There was a knight's chapter house here too, and a squad of knights, but the gate around it was open, and the village itself was just as open, and bustling with bright, smiling faces.  

Had we even seen such a thing since Ohio?

Les was looking blase about the whole thing: I wanted to ask him if he ever felt surreal too?

Because this all felt otherworldly to me. More otherworldly than things already were. Was I simply not used to peace anymore? Was that a thing?

There was an inn, and it was next to the chapter house. We went in as a group, and the darkened interior didn't look too different from a motel lobby... well, it did, but it had some similarities too. Even if there were too many tables and chairs in here for the look.

The proprietor was a thin man, standing behind his desk, and wearing a smile that might be a little fake. "Good afternoon! My name is Joe. Would you all like rooms?"

"We would. How many do you have?"

The man focused on Karl: "We have up to five open, or you can simply take a pallet by the fire if you'd prefer."

The meaning? 'If you're poor, you can huddle in front of the fireplace all night and ride out the night that way.' I couldn't even fault the man since half of us looked like bums.

"We'll take three." Karl said firmly.

I wasn't sharing, so he must be thinking they would triple up. I felt a little sorry for Les.

"That'll be six silver. More if you want meals included."

I could see Karl waffling. Our supplies were getting slim, but he clearly didn't want to cook, even if we had something to cook.

"Dinner and breakfast."

"Eight silver then, unless there are more of you."

Looks like Joe had done the math and realized we were a little on the broke side after all.

Karl paid the man, spreading the coins on the counter. At least four of them were mine, and my own coinpurse was more than a little light. A bad situation to find ourselves in right before we were to enter a major city.

We needed to find a job. There was unlikely to find one we were suited for here, though.

I wasn't waitressing no matter where we were; if it came to that, Karl could put on the stupid dress himself.

Karl asked anyway. "Any sort of job around here need steady hands and calm minds?"

Well, that was a nice way to phrase it. Better than what I'd have come up with.

Matt turned to me and rolled his eyes. At least he didn't say anything and break the illusion Karl was painting of us. Even Randolf was behaving.

Joe gave the appearance of thinking about it, but I was certain that appearance was all it was. "No, the knights take care of things like that. You might check with them, however. They might know of something."

"Right, thanks."

There was still plenty of time, even with the shorter days. We likely had another two hours to get things done. I mean, we were adults, but there were things lurking in the dark now, so staying close to the nice safe fires and lights was always a nice plan.

Which was another way to make money, honestly. Simply creating lights and wards could net Les and I some good silver. Assuming these guys could pay, after all. They had government backing though, so they could probably pay.

Would I be needed for this negotiation? As Karl turned around to leave, I could see the question being asked by all of us.

By Karl's third step, Matt, Les, and I were the only ones following. Which made sense, in a way. I wanted to ask about lights, Les likely wanted to ask about wards, and Matt... well, Matt made no sense at all, but he could come if he wanted.

I wished I could just piss off and find a drink the way my friends were. Something nice and beer-like, maybe with apples mixed into the hops.

The chapter house was still open. We all walked in, looking like a mini-invasion. The knights in the small courtyard, who were practicing some kind of sword drill, didn't even glance at us.

What else was there to do but keep going?

The door on the far side was also open, and led to a large office, complete with a large wooden desk and massive file cabinets. The file cabinets were made of wood too, though. That and the wallpaper made the place look a little less tacky.

The man sitting at the desk was at best a few years older than Karl, and had a knot of rank on both shoulders. Why someone would wear armor while seated at a desk was beyond me, but the man made it work.

He was average looking too, with brown eyes and hair that just reached the nape of his neck. Somehow, he made that all work for him too; I could feel the man as soon as we entered the room; a presence that made me unable to forget that he existed and where he was.

He looked up, then got up. "Can I help you?"

For all that he was armored, his sword was propped up behind him. The man's best weapon at hand was a dagger. Even so, he didn't reach for anything, but came around with his open hand out. Karl clasped the offered hand. "My name is Karl, and we are adventurers from Ohio. We're heading to the capital on business from the government there. However we find ourselves short on traveling funds, and were wondering if there was anything we could do to earn more before we once again went on our way."

A minor lie there. Well, not really a lie; he'd just omitted any mention of our village. A sensible precaution, and this guy wouldn't learn the truth from me.

"I am watch commander Selnick. Welcome to Gaurdian. I sympathize, but there is nothing here for adventurers like yourself. This area is peaceful, and we've got no outstanding problems."

Well, crap.

Wait, there was something else adventurers were famous for. Another activity we did. "Are there no ruins around here? Old castles, strange buildings? Places with dark reputations?"

The man turned to me; he'd already caught on. "There is one, my Lady. It is not far from the road, but it's closer to the next village over than here. An old castle and the surrounding grounds. No one goes to it, as there is a rumor that all those who do disappear. We haven't sent anyone to it in an official capacity yet; we've been lacking the man power for it. If you all want to try your luck, I can see you get paid for it. Upon completion, of course."

"Of course," Karl said, once again taking over. "How much are we talking?"

"The pay of a knight of the realm for a day, plus hazard pay. A gold coin for each of you."

That was... quite a bit for a day's work, and it was guaranteed. For something we were going to do anyway, just for the chance of plunder, why shouldn't we?

Karl agreed. "Done."

"I'll write you a writ. It is a bit late to try for the place now; are you staying at the inn?"

"We are."

The watch commander nodded, almost to himself. "Then I'll have the writ ready for you by dinner time. What you'll do is present the writ, any chapter house for us, and present it with some form of proof of completion. Then you get paid; it's just that simple."

Sounded easy.

"Alright, sounds good to us." Karl replied and held out his hand again.

The watch commander clasped it. "It's a deal."

He turned, his attention already back to his desk. Karl turned as well, and led the way out.

I fell in beside him. It was probably best to stay silent for now. Karl had probably picked up on it; he'd picked up on everything else so far.

If the distance between villages was constant, then the distance to the ruin was likely hours away, and that meant we wouldn't be checking it out today.

As expected, Karl led us back to the inn.

Phil appeared next to me, and pressed a key in my hand. "It's fine. Not even small, and the sheets are clean."

I hadn't asked him to check. "Thanks."

He clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't mention it. No need to look so confused; you just left, and someone had to take care of the little things. I'm off to have a few now."

I couldn't argue with that. "Have fun."

I knew I was a nerd because I'd spend the time studying. Things to learn, even when you played things by ear.

I'd be somewhat hampered by the lack of learning material, but there were still a few things I could do. I wonder if normal mages ever felt like this - as if their progress was too slow. I mean objectively, I'd come a long way in a few months, but it just didn't seem enough.

I shouldn't get used to this anyway. I needed to remember that I'd be a fresh college graduate again, eventually.

The chair was comfortable, but a little low. It was low for me; Matt just sank in his, next to me. Was his butt on the floor? I hadn't heard the chair break, so probably not, but he was at eye level with me now.

The look on his face was priceless. "Don't you have something to do?"

"Not right at the moment. You don't want to down a few?" Matt had always been a bit of a party-er.

"Not right now. Maybe later; I could do with a load off; walking in all this metal gets tiring after awhile."

I smelled the lie. It was a little touching, but mostly cloying. I... probably wasn't in danger here? I was watching the door anyway, we both were - though Matt was looking slightly off center on that.

Whatever, I'd let him do it. With my nose in my book, I could trust Matt to look out for me.

At least until the dinner bell rang.