The Life of a Bandit and a Thief

Chapter Fifteen - Leads and Letters

Chapter Fifteen - Leads and Letters

"Whoops lad, sorry, dinna see ye there!"

Simon gave a weak grimace as he dabbed at the front of his shirt, where a sticky, brown patch was now beginning seep through; the large, drunken man who had tripped in front of him staggering off.

The noise of the place was deafening, and had a definite smell of urine, sweat, and something else Simon didn't want the answer to; but at least it was warm and dry, and he got to sleep in a proper bed for once instead of a mat or hammock.

After much debate, the group had begrudgingly decided to take on the Prince's request, and David had suggested the best place to start would be by listening to the stories and gossip from the murky Tracorian underworld, and see what leads they could find.

So here they were, sat in the fifth tavern they had travelled to, but so far had found nothing.

'Not that they're really trying.' Simon thought frustratedly as he watched David and Rob finish a particularly filthy song, and be begged for another by their captive audience - including Susie and Lena, while Sam, Thom and group of equally drunk and hulking men cheered and whooped in appreciation as Elise downed yet another flagon of ale in one go.

It seemed to Simon that they had spent most of the past week as an excuse to drink and party in as many taverns and inns as they could, every now and then asking a fleeting question before being quickly distracted by the prospect of another drink.

"Watch it, my boy, you could cause someone damage there!" A man slurred at Simon as he spilt yet more alcohol down his already sodden shirt.

"Damn it! That's it, I'm going, I'm leaving, I can't stay here!" Simon raved, jumping up and grabbing his jacket.

"Oh no, my boy, you donna want to be doing that." The drunkard gasped, placing a sweaty hand on Simon's shoulder to steady himself. "Not while there's them lot roaming the forests, nay."

"What do you mean? Whose 'them'?" Simon asked, his brow creasing. In all honestly he had only been thinking of leaving to go to his nice, warm bed upstairs, but from what the man was saying he felt he should hear him out, no matter how drunk his ramblings.

"An-Angrakorians!" The man shouted whilst hiccouphing. "A load of soldiers they said, right near the border tryin' to get in." He leant in close and whispered conspiritively, Simon wincing at the foul state of his breath, "And I hear, some of them already have."

A voice called from the other side of the room, and the man gave Simon a forceful slap on the shoulder, before guffawing and staggering away.

Simon sat down again. 'Angrakorians? And soldiers at that?' Simon tried to process the information.

The Kingdom of Angrakor was the Eastern neighbour of Tracoria, and it was a well known fact that the two countries did not exactly see eye-to-eye, and that there was a very fine line between peace and war breaking out between the two. In Angrokor, Tracorians were considered backwards, with arranged marriages and the way they kept to themselves; even though Angrakor, despite it's multicultural society and great wealth, had built that wealth through a prosperous slave-trade.

In the past, many Tracorians had been kidnapped and sold off against their will, and though not a large practice anymore, it was not uncommon for an Angrakorian slave trader to sneak across the border to hunt for the destitute or orphaned.

'But soldiers?' Simon frowned, trying to think of any reason enemy soldiers would be spotted in the Tracorian forests.

'Unless-' Simon began to think, his mind spinning the tale and putting the pieces together, just as a very tipsy Sam sat on the seat next to him, an equally merry Elise flinging herself onto her husband's knee.