Kings Game

Chapter 56 - Letters from Abroad

(1)

Dear Dad,

We went on another adventure. We were halfway between the northern mountains and the southern forests, where the days are hot and the air starts to turn sticky. We had run out of money and were camping out again, enjoying another night under the stars.

Just as I was beginning to doze off, Sarah nudged me awake. Moments later, we heard a woman scream. All of us jumped awake but Kell was the fastest. She sprinted out of our camp and to the road where the scream had come from. By the time Nul and I got there, Kell had already dealt with the situation, leaving a handful of bodies scattered across the road.

A carriage had been attacked by a group of people. They'd killed the coachman and escort, leaving a lone woman alive inside. The attackers were an odd collection of people, though all of them wore the same musty robes. The poor woman had been traumatized and was barely keeping her wits about her.

Karyn insisted we escort her to the nearest town to make sure she was safe. It was only a half day's ride and we arrived shortly after sunrise. Speaking with the townsfolk, it turned out that this wasn't an uncommon occurrence and that people had been going missing lately. Nul guessed that the same people that had attacked the woman had been attacking and kidnapping other travelers. When they learned that we were Champions, the local constable offered to pay us a bounty for dealing with the issue.Nul was hesitant but Karyn insisted that we help and Kell had already agreed to the idea. I think she was more interested in picking a fight than helping the townspeople.

Heading back up the road, Sarah searched the forest until she found traces of the attackers and the trail they'd left behind. She guided us up a hill to a small fortress hidden deep within the forest. Oddly enough, the roads in and out of the sanctuary were well maintained, paved with freshly cut stones and kept clear of debris. The further in we got, the more we noticed signs of production and trade.

Once we arrived at the fortress, we realized that it was situated next to a quarry. From the looks of it, the quarry was active and producing a fair amount of stone that was being shipped down the hill and out into the country. We didn't think much of it until Sarah noticed that the quarry was full of dead bodies.

Nul and I decided that we should camp out and let Sarah spy for us until we could figure out what was going on, but Kell ignored us and waltzed straight up to the front gate, pounded on the door, and demanded to know why they had a quarry full of dead bodies.

A greasy little man opened the door and smiled at her, he reminded me of Murrin but with a hunchback and bulging eyes. He wrung his hands over and over again while he appraised Kell, like a butcher appraising a cow before the slaughter.

Kell, unimpressed, once again demanded to know why he had a bunch of dead bodies lying around the quarry. Instead of answering, the greasy little man invited her in. While all of us saw it as an obvious trap, Kell shrugged and followed after him. Nul wanted to remain outside and let Kell get herself into trouble, but Karyn wasn't willing to let her go alone and ran after her. I wasn't willing to let Karyn go without someone watching her back, so I followed as well. Nul demonstrated their extensive knowledge of curse words before joining us at the gate.

The greasy little man led us through the keep. There were only a handful of other people around, all of them wearing thick dark robes and milling about running errands. The entire fortress reeked of ammonia and incense. Kell began sneezing the moment we passed through the front door. While the people seemed friendly enough, Sarah was on edge. She kept a hand on my shoulder and was constantly looking around.

The man waved at his comrades and they shuffled us further into the keep, the others beginning to circle around us, blocking the escape route. I know we shouldn't have let them block us in like that, but between Nul and Kell I didn't think there was any real danger to anyone but Karyn. Nul kept their eyes open and their etchings had already adjusted a few times since we'd come inside. Kell was blase and half bored, her spear bouncing on her shoulder with every step.