The Eighth Warden Ch. 001-002

That made her happy again, and they went downstairs together for breakfast.

After he ate, Corec pulled on his chain shirt and strapped his sword sheath to his back, leaving the rest of his armor locked in the room.

The closest trading house was also the least likely to have work for him, but he stopped there anyway since it was on the way to the others. Entering the small office, he found a company representative sitting at a desk.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"I'm a caravan guard with written references from Senshall and Overland Holdings. Do you have any short-term work available?"

The man looked him over, then grabbed a short stack of papers and thumbed through them. "Nothing short term. Our local runs are booked with local boys. If you've got your sea legs, there's a coastal cutter headed north to Lanport in three days. It's a small ship, so it only takes two guards, and one slot is already full. If you've got your references with you, I'd be willing to take a chance on someone new."

"How long is the trip?"

"There and back, twenty days. You've got to sign on for both legs."

"I don't think I can make that work," Corec said. "I've got a reserved spot on an outgoing in fourteen days. Could I check back in with you another time?"

The man shrugged. "Sure."

Corec thanked him and left the office. It wouldn't hurt to be known by a new company, but Senshall gave him specialist pay, and he wasn't going to give up a thirty-six day caravan trip to Four Roads at three silver a day. Besides, he hated boats.

On his way across town to his next option, he walked past the constabulary building. He normally paid it no mind, but this time, something caught his eye when he passed the bounty posters. He did a double-take, then stopped and looked more closely. An old man with a tidy-looking beard and mustache, and a young woman with shoulder-length curly hair. The drawing wasn't a close likeness, and it was in charcoal so he couldn't tell what color the girl's hair was, but something told him it was the two bards. Or rather, the bard and the minstrel.

The poster didn't have many details, saying only that they were wanted alive for the crime of theft. Did posing as a bard count as theft? Curious, he entered the building and found the bounty office.

The man inside glanced at him, noting the large sword hilt poking above his left shoulder. "I don't recognize you. Are you new?"

"I've never brought in a bounty before, but I had a question about one of the posters. The one with the two people on it?"

"The Herman brothers? If you've never gone after a bounty, I don't recommend starting with them."

"No, I mean the one with the man and the woman." Corec pointed to a copy of the poster hanging on the wall at the back of the office.

"Oh, that must be new. Let me find the paperwork." The man pulled open a drawer and drew out a sheet of paper. "Thieves. They came in off a ship from down south eight days ago and spent two nights picking pockets at a couple of inns. They were pretending to be minstrels. One would play and the other would work the room."

"Do you have their names?"

"It doesn't say."

Corec nodded. "What's the bounty on them?"

"Twenty silver each, so one gold total if you bring them both in. Alive."

"That doesn't seem like very much."

The man shrugged. "They don't appear to be dangerous, and it's the going rate for a first-time thief. There's a ten percent finder's fee if you can return any of the stolen items to their rightful owners."

"All right, thank you."

Corec left to hurry back to the inn. It had been four days since he'd seen the two musicians, but he doubted they'd have been performing that close to the city if they knew they were wanted. Even if they had fast horses, if they continued to stop each night to put on a show, he might be able to catch up with them. As he walked, he put together a list in his mind of the supplies he'd need to purchase before he could leave. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be time for a second night with Betta.

#

"My wife said you were looking for me?" the tavern keeper asked. "The name's Jarol."

"Yes, I was here a few nights ago," Corec said. "The night the bards played?"

"Oh, right, the first night they were here. You were with the Senshall caravan fellas. I recognize the sword."

"Yes, I was. The bards stayed for another night?"

"Only after I offered to pay them. But it was worth it—it's not every day a bard comes through here, much less two of them. Why are you so interested?" Jarol seemed suspicious.

Corec said, "One of the trading houses in the city was hoping to hire them, so they sent me to see if I could find them."

The tavern keeper relaxed. "Well, you might be able to catch them on the road, but they were in a hurry. There was a bit of a problem the second night."

"Oh?"

"Some young sprig of a baron's son got drunk and tried to go after that poor girl pretty hard. His own people had to distract him until he got too drunk to walk. Kat and Felix left first thing in the morning to avoid him, but they probably didn't need to worry about it. He spent the whole morning shouting that his coin purse was missing and insisting I help him find it."

"Kat and Felix are the bards?" Corec asked. "I didn't catch their names before."

Jarol nodded. "That's them."

"You ever find that coin purse?"

"Nah. Probably someone made off with it when they realized he was too drunk to stop them."

"I suppose his guards should have been watching more closely. Did the bards say what direction they were going?"

"I didn't ask, but they headed west when they left."

"I'll keep trying to catch them, then, but I think I'll stay put for tonight. Do you rent out rooms?"

"Not here, but there's an inn on the other side of your people's warehouse. The Flying Rooster. Tell them I sent you."

"Thank you."

Without the wagons to hold him back, Corec had made good time on his return to the tavern. It was early evening the day after he'd left Tyrsall, which meant the musicians had left three days earlier. Though, since they'd left in the early morning, they might have as much as three and a half days lead. Luckily, though, it sounded like they still hadn't realized anyone was after them, so he had a good chance of catching up.

He considered continuing on until it was too dark to see, but Dot and the pack mule had been traveling faster than they were accustomed to and deserved a rest. He was already familiar with The Flying Rooster, so he untied the animals from the hitching post and headed in that direction.