The Unknown Man: Book 1 in The Keepers of the Orbs Series (6 page)

“I’m indebted to you.” She glanced at Tirene and then looked back over her shoulder at the two palace guards. “I think I’m in good company and will be safe with them by my side. We’re headed to...”

Tirene cut her off, which displeased both the farmer and Liniana. He said, “We’re on a journey seeking information. We’re headed east for now, but where our journey takes us, no one knows. We appreciate what you have told us, but the day is getting late, and if I’m to keep her safe, we should be on our way.”

The farmer chuckled, “I see what you mean, my lady. I wish you safe journeys.” He resumed the trip up to the barn with his cattle, and soon disappeared out of sight.

Liniana glared at Tirene. “Why did you cut me off?” Anger still apparent on her face, “And why did you lie to him? We’ve no reason to withhold our plans. He’s just a farmer.”

“My lady, if there are Minotaurs this far north, I would have to assume it’s too much of a coincidence that I don’t know who I am.” He paused, “I think they might be looking for me. We shouldn’t give anyone information that would allow them to pick up our trail. We need to keep our identities from strangers.” He glanced at her traveling clothes. She wore a tabard over her tunic marking her as someone noteworthy from Havenbrook. He also couldn’t help but notice the guards were unmistakable as well. “In fact, you should stop wearing your tabard. While they might still recognize your face, at least people from a distance won’t recognize you as someone of nobility.”

“This is ridiculous!” She turned to face the guards. “One of you should return to Havenbrook and warn my father. If there is an impending attack, I think he should be prepared and at least rouse the army.” They both argued with her, until they reached the conclusion she wouldn’t be swayed then switched to who should be the one to go back. They sent one of the guards west toward Havenbrook. She turned and dug her heels into her horse, sending it into a trot.

Tirene followed behind her. They rode in heavy silence as the sun moved further to the east, approaching the horizon. The rolling hills returned and so too did the dense forests. Aware people were looking for him, he became more alert of his surroundings. With all of the trees in the forests around them, there were plenty of places for creatures to hide, setting up a possible ambush. He eyed the shadows to see if he noticed anyone or anything.

The sun appeared to be about an hour from drifting below the horizon when they approached a small wagon road veering off to the south. He slowed his horse and followed the dirt path with his eyes. It opened to a clearing about a hundred paces down. He pointed it out to the remaining guard, who nodded his agreement. He then sped his horse up and caught Liniana.

“That path we just passed leads to a clearing.” She still seemed upset from earlier, and her eyes showed it. “It would be a good place to make camp for the evening. If we hurry, we can have a fire before dark so no one will notice.”

She leveled her gaze at him and said, “You’re right, even though I still believe there is no danger.” She turned her horse and headed back to the wagon road.

He proceeded past her down the path to make sure no one waited for them in the clearing. After about three hundred paces he found a small lake. Tirene got off his horse and unfastened his bags. He waited for her to dismount and unfastened hers as well. She sulked over to a tree and sat down. He sent the guard with the horses to the small lake to eat and drink.

He walked back over to where she sat, and grabbed plenty of dried wood. It smelled of pine, which burned fast, so he grabbed extra with plenty of dry grass to use as kindling. He cleared a large area down to the dirt, and began setting up the kindling and wood to start a fire. He grabbed a kettle and filled it up in the lake. He put it on the fire to boil so they could drink tea, and used the water to make soup.

Tirene added herbs to the boiling water to make it taste a little better. He offered a cup to her, and she accepted. They ate their soup in silence while the sun began to set. They doused the fire, and Liniana walked over to the edge of the lake. She faced the northernmost moon and dropped to her knees to begin praying.

Tirene and the guard gathered all of the dishes so he could clean them. Every so often, he glanced over his shoulder to see if she still prayed. He turned to the guard. “I never caught your name. Liniana has decided to call me Tirene.” He outstretched his hand and offered it to the soldier.

He smiled and reached out to clasp Tirene's hand. He had a rather gruff voice that didn’t quite match his age. “They call me Brant, sir. Glad to make your acquaintance.”              They talked while cleaning up all of their dishes.

Tirene laid her blankets out beneath a tree. It didn’t look like it would rain, but you never knew. After about an hour, Liniana stood up and walked back over to them. She smiled at the pair and noticed he had set up her bed for her.

“You didn’t have to do that for me, but I appreciate it.”

He returned her smile. “I will take the first watch, you sleep. I will wake you later to take over so I can get some rest.”

“Thank you, Tirene.” She gathered her thoughts and said, “I’ve had time to reflect on the situation earlier, and I apologize if I acted in a rude manner. I’m used to being the one in control and I didn’t appreciate you cutting me off. I realize some precautions may be necessary.”

He gave her a roguish grin. “I mean to keep my promise to your father, and if that means taking some extra steps—be it necessary or not—I will. I appreciate your understanding. I think you should get some sleep. The night will pass by quickly, and you need all of the rest you can get.”

She thanked him and lay down, pulling a blanket over herself. It didn’t take her long to drift off to sleep. Brant drew the second watch, and was already snoring. This gave Tirene a lot of time to think. It wasn’t something he relished, so every hour, or what he thought was an hour, he patrolled the camp. He also stopped to check on the horses. This would take care of about fifteen minutes out of every hour and reduced the time he had to worry about their current situation. He waited until the moons had gone well past their pinnacle, to ensure the others were getting plenty of rest. When he could barely stay awake himself, he walked over and nudged Brant.

Brant rolled over and looked up at him. “Is it that time already?” He yawned and stretched while he looked around the clearing. “You let me sleep too long. I don’t think I will have to let Liniana take a watch.” He stood up and motioned that he had things under control. “I will wake you at daybreak. Go ahead and get some sleep.”

Tirene laid back and covered himself with his blanket. Before his head hit his rolled up cloak, he fell asleep.

Based on the position of the sun, Tirell put the time at just past noon on their fourth day of travels. He suggested to Liniana they stop for lunch about an hour before, but she said they were almost to Shepherd's Crossing, so they pressed on. A meal prepared at an inn would be a welcome relief after days of dried meat, bland soup, and stew.

As they rounded a bend and headed northeast, he could see the peaks of the buildings in the distance. Thick clouds of smoke emanated from many of the chimneys. They entered the town and people gave the party friendly, but wary, glances. Liniana and Brant complied with Tirene's wishes and no longer wore their tabards. People wouldn’t recognize her until they were close enough to see her face, if they even recognized her at all.

She led them east down the main street, and took a right at the other main thoroughfare, running north and south through the town. They proceeded for a block until they reached an inn. Brant said he would scout the road ahead to gather information about the Minotaurs. They agreed with his ideas and sent him on his way. He said he would meet them back in front of the inn in the morning.

They watched Brant disappear amidst the sea of people in town as a young man came to take the horses to the stables. Liniana thanked him and tossed him a copper for his efforts.

They walked through the doors of the inn, Tirene first, and Liniana followed. Many of the patrons puffed on pipes, leaving the air thick with a blue hue. A young woman played a fiddle on the stage and people seemed to enjoy her music. Several patrons gathered around a table in the back of the common room playing the game Castles Crook; a gambling game involving cards and dice.

They glanced around the establishment, which they found difficult with the haze from the thick smoke. Tirene spotted the innkeeper behind the bar, and pointed him out to Liniana.

The innkeeper was a short man with a bald, shiny head, and a thick black mustache that curved around his mouth. He saw the two of them approaching and said, “Hello, what can I do for ya?”

Tirene spoke up first and said, “The young lady and I would like two neighboring rooms, one with a hot bath drawn for her. That is if you have a copper tub you can bring up to her room.”

The man gave the pair an amusing look. “We do, and it just so happens I have two neighboring rooms I can let you have. It will cost twenty-five silver a night to rent the rooms. Meals will, of course, be included.”

Outraged, Liniana stepped forward to confront him. “Twenty-five silver! That is outlandish, and you know it is, why I should...”

Tirene intervened and positioned himself between the two. He glanced at her before looking at the barkeep. “Twenty-five silver sounds reasonable to me. We’ll take it. Ensure a bath is drawn for my lady.”

As Tirene said this, the barkeep shifted his gaze to Liniana. He stared at her for a moment and his eyes grew wide. “I’m sorry, my lady. I didn’t know, I mean I didn’t recognize you at first.” He wiped his dirty hands on his already filthy, white apron—which proved to be a useless endeavor. “Of course twenty-five silver is outlandish. The room will be on the house, what...whatever it is you need. My name is Nevin and I’m the owner of the Sharpened Sheers.”

This seemed to calm her down a bit. She just couldn’t believe an inn could charge so much more than the normal going rate for a room. It angered her that her own people would do that. “Nevin, I will pay you for the room, but is the normal rate not five silver per room per night? That is what I will pay, and I insist on paying.”

He bowed. “That is very kind of you, my lady.” He walked around the bar and came out to greet them. He pointed his arm toward the rear of the inn. “If you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms.” He led them down a hall which revealed a staircase. He started the ascent up when he said, “Sorry for the misunderstanding earlier. There have been rumors, and with the rumors less people are traveling.” He gave them an apologetic look and continued, “I’ve had to raise my rates to keep a profit. It hasn’t been easy, but people have been adjusting.”

They were both very interested in hearing more. Tirene asked, “So the rumors are true then? Minotaurs have been spotted?”

Nevin turned around to face the two of them. “Aye! Old Jon Toman claimed to have seen them out past his pastures.” He turned and began walking up the stairs again. “That is only one of the sightings though, but the only one around here.”

“I don’t understand. There has been more than one sighting?” Liniana asked him. He shook his head yes before she continued. “Have they attacked anyone? Or anyone’s properties?”

He shook his head again. “That is the crazy part. They have let themselves be seen, yet they retreat to wherever they came from. But their presence has made many wary of traveling. They shouldn’t be this far north.” He stopped as a thought occurred to him. “Wait a second! You just arrived. How do you know they’ve been spotted?”

Liniana responded. “We ran across a farmer a few days ago who gave us the information.”

He looked them up and down before proceeding down the second floor hall. He led them past a couple of doors and opened the third door on the left. “This room will be the lady’s.” He walked to the next door on the left and said, “And this one will be for you.” He turned and faced them both. “I will get someone working on a bath for the lady. In the meantime, feel free to come down to the dining hall to eat.”

Tirene examined both of the rooms. His looked smaller, but both would suffice. They both had narrow beds, a window, a table, a nightstand, and a dresser for their belongings. Nothing lavish, but it sure beat sleeping beneath a tree. He walked over to the window in her room and glanced out. He noticed that most of the people milling about the streets were farmers. A blacksmith had a shop set up across the street from the inn. He turned around to face Liniana. “This will serve well. I suggest we take him up on his offer and get something to eat while your bath is prepared.”

She responded by saying, “You aren’t even going to bring up that there have been other sightings?” He shrugged his shoulders toward her. “How can you be so calm? Shouldn't we worry about what they are doing here?”

He shrugged his shoulders again, a huge grin crossed his face. “What difference would it make? They are looking for something, or someone. They haven’t hurt anyone, so what can we do?”

Her cheeks darkened as she grew angry. “Ugh! You’re so calm and patient!” She paused to gather her thoughts. “We can assume they are looking for you,” She said as she pointed to him, jamming her finger into his chest. “But if you’re fine with letting them hunt you, then I guess I will be too. It isn’t my hide they’re after.” He grinned at her, which upset her even more. “And what is with all of this 'draw a bath for the lady' talk?” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m not some frail flower who can’t take care of herself.”

He laughed at her. He could see her defenses rise and knew he needed to relax a bit. “You’re dirty from our travels. I figured you would enjoy a hot bath to get the grime and dirt off you.” Her cheeks returned to their normal color.

They made their way back down to the dining hall and he directed them to an empty table. Nevin spotted them and ordered one of his servers to bring food over.

The server carried a plate for each of them, which she delivered to their table. Not surprisingly, mutton and potatoes filled the plate with plenty of bread too.

She still seemed irritated and he knew he needed to tread lightly. He inquired more about her parents.

“The death of my brother was hard on both of my parents. They became overly protective of their lone surviving heir.” She chuckled. “I think my father did his best to turn me into his son. He had me trained as a soldier and groomed me to command the legions—that is until I realized my true calling as a healer.”

Tirene nodded his head. He knew to trust her word. As they spoke, his infatuation grew. He regularly had to remind himself to proceed with caution. She seemed to have a quick temper, but he felt sure she only acted this way as a form of defense.

“It seems your father has done right by his people, though. I have to admit, I’m shocked by the amount of respect he offers to the citizens of Havenbrook,” he said.

She beamed at his comments of her father. “He definitely has his moments. I must admit I’m quite proud of him—most of the time, that is.” She smiled.

While she spoke, he glanced around the room while he ate a chunk of his bread. A boy approached their table who had to be in his late teens, and had an overly muscular build for his age. He had short brown hair, and stood at an above average height. An air of excitement surrounded him as he approached. Nobody in the bar paid him any attention.

He walked over to their table and introduced himself as Jaeden. His gaze shifted toward Tirene. “Would you care to try and beat me in a game of Castles Crook? A low stakes game of course, and after you have concluded with your meal.” He beamed with friendliness to the two of them.

Tirene set down his utensil and said, “I don’t gamble my young friend, and neither should you. You’re liable to get yourself killed, especially when most of your opponents are twice your age.” He tore off another chunk of bread, surprised he could remember such a detail.

A sullen look appeared on the boy’s face as he looked down at his feet. “Thank you, but it’s all I have. Maybe another time then.” He turned and walked out of the inn.

Tirene looked at Liniana who hadn’t said a word. She had a smirk on her face. “Why am I not surprised?” She resumed eating.

“I might surprise you when you least expect it.” He gave her a sly look. “Besides, he should be working in the fields for his family.”

They walked back to their rooms as the servants dumped in their last bucket of hot water. He left her at her room, and went to his. He closed his door and started undressing while steam billowed out of the tub.

The water felt very hot and when he couldn’t stand it any longer, he got out. He put a set of clean clothes on, and then checked on Liniana. She said she wanted to stay in the tub a little longer. He took his leave and decided to take a stroll around town. He went back downstairs where the dining hall had emptied out, and servants were busy scrubbing the tables and sweeping the floor.

He made his way outside and took a deep breath. Rain looked imminent. He could smell the ozone, always a welcome sensation. He turned left and walked around the town. He could hear the smithy, hammering on steel, no matter where he traveled in Shepherd’s Crossing. When he had completed his circuit, he heard raucous cheering coming from the rear of the livery. He walked around to investigate it further.

He noticed a ring of boys. They all ranged in age from between eleven to about seventeen. Two of the boys were fighting with swords in the ring. He strode over to take in the action. He thought he saw Jaeden—the boy from earlier in the inn. He marveled at how quick and agile the boy seemed. He appeared competent with the sword, acting as if it were a part of his body. All of his movements were fluid.

Jaeden saw Tirene watching him, and he went on the offensive. He drove the other boy back and to the ground. He had the dull point of his old and notched sword at the boy's throat, and the boy surrendered. A cheer rang through the audience. He pulled the sword back and strutted around, urging the spectators on.

He threw his hands up in the air—sword raised—and uttered a cheer. He walked over to one of the spectators and collected money. “Thank you. Thank you. You fought well. Who else wants to try to beat me in combat? I will offer good odds.”

No one seemed interested in the offer for a moment. A boy who appeared to be the oldest stepped forward. Quickly, a spectator collected the money and the two boys walked into the center of the ring. They nodded at one another, and combat commenced. Jaeden appeared to almost win the battle, then he was losing it.
How can this be?
Tirene thought. Jaeden pressed his attack again, then he sunk back. It seemed as if the boy toyed with his opponent, but he timed it very well. He felt convinced Jaeden mocked the other boy, and he had the spectators captivated. They cheered for both fighters, whoever advanced at the time. Just when you thought the other boy would win, Jaeden turned things around on him and attacked. In the blink of an eye, the other boy dropped his sword and went down on one knee. The crowd erupted.

Jaeden bowed to his audience and walked over to collect his winnings. He made the same offer again, but this time nobody took him up on it. When the fighting appeared over, he gave his sword to a boy and walked over to Tirene. His face leveled in a smirk as he approached. “You like what you see?”

“You’re good. I will give you that.” Jaeden grinned from ear to ear, pleased with the compliment. “But you’re cocky and arrogant, all the same.” The grin fell from Jaeden’s face. “Why do you mock them in combat? It’s as if you let them have the advantage, then you turn on them.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” The smile had returned to his face. “It’s bad for business if I just walk in and defeat them. I have to let them think they can win. It needs to be close or no one will ever want to fight me again. I let one of them beat me every so often, when little money is at stake that is. There is nothing wrong with taking a loss... if it’s good for business.”

Tirene shook his head. “Do you do this every day?” His answer came in the form of a nod from the boy. “Why are you not working in the fields? Or could you join up with the legions in Havenbrook? You’re skilled, that much is for certain. They could use a blade like yours to defend the region.”