The Crimson Road Read online

  The Crimson Road

  William Wells

  To those that supported me despite not knowing me. This is the first of many works. M. E. B….. You are more important than you realize.

  Chapter 1

  I stopped briefly in front of the tavern, taking a glance at the two story structure. The first floor was alive with the sounds that accompanied drinking by mercenaries, and the second floor seemed to operate as an inn. A quick adjustment put my blades in a more comfortable position, and I could feel the knives hidden by my clothes just in case someone decided to take offense to my presence.

  There wasn’t a door, so I walked up to the open entrance and found groups of men all drinking heavily, trying to outdo each other with volume. Serving girls in low tops and tight skirts wound their way around the tables, avoiding most of the hands and smiling at the cat calls. I pushed my way to the bar, forcing two people out of the way in order to get a spot. As was custom, I slid a piece of silver onto the counter and a mug of ale appeared.

  I took a sip, making a small face. The taste wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t worth a silver piece this far from a regular city. I stared straight ahead, absorbing the conversations around me. I listened in, and gathered that there were two main groups in town right now that didn’t care for each other much. There were a couple large men scattered throughout the tavern that seemed to be the main deterrent against any of the mercenaries from actually acting on their mutual dislikes.

  Halfway through the ale, a couple players got up on stage and began to warm up. The men started to quiet down a little, and a woman who was a real neck breaker got up to join them. She began to sing, and other than the sounds of mugs being picked up and put down, there was only her voice.

  As soon as my mug was empty, another full one appeared in front of me. I glanced at the bartender, and he nodded. Apparently full mugs were half a silver a piece. A better price but still a little on the expensive side. I finished my second one as the woman took her first break. The men began to talk again, and the volume quickly rose.

  I got the bartender’s attention with a quick motion, “How much for a night?”

  He barely glanced at me, “One gold. Gets you breakfast in the morning.”

  I scoffed, “That’s a little steep.”

  The man shrugged, “Rooms are at a premium right now. We’ve got two companies in town, not enough beds for all of them.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled three gold coins out, “Keep the drinks coming.”

  The bartender smiled and slid another mug of ale, then reached and pulled up a key. “Left side, all the way at the end.”

  I took the key and turned my attention back to the ale. The taste was better, and I glanced over at the bartender who ignored me. Apparently those who got rooms got the good stuff. The singer came back, and did a second set of songs. For some, the mercenaries joined her in the raunchier ones. I watched the bartender get in a better mood as more and more mugs of ale were sold to the distracted men.

  Some time, and more than a few mugs later, I was pleasantly buzzed. I refused the next mug put in front of me, and walked around the floor to the stairs. My room was unlocked, and even after drinking I did my usual inspection. The bed was free of bugs, and after assuring myself that there weren’t any traps, I set my own alarms in case of intruders.

  I woke up the next morning just as the sun was coming up. After packing up my things, I headed down to see that the kitchen was already serving breakfast. I sat at a table where I had a view of the main entrances, and gave my order to one of the serving girls. She brought me an ale, and smiled shyly at me.

  I nodded back, before taking a drink. More of the good quality ale. A quick movement was the only warning I had before a giant of a man sat across from me. I half expected the chair to collapse with the sudden weight, but it held with a groan.

  “You’re a new face around here.” The man grinned behind a beard, “What’s your story?”

  “Looking for work. Heard this was the place to make some good money.” I took a drink.

  The man nodded, then picked up the mug that had been placed in front of him. “This town operates a little differently. You need permission from the Town Council to claim any bounties.”

  “Guess I need to go talk to the Council. Thanks for the advice.” My food arrived and I began to eat. I got a few bites in before the man interrupted me.

  “You seem like you know how to use those blades.” He took a long pull, “How’d you like to work for my company?”

  “I work alone. Always have.”

  “You don’t seem old enough to have been working this job that long.”

  “Long enough that I know what I’m doing.” I finished my plate. “Thanks for the offer.”

  “I’ve seen a lot of young men cut down before their time because they think they are invincible and try to go it alone. Don’t be an idiot.” The man finished his drink in one gulp.

  I finished my drink. “Would you like to see if I’m being an idiot?”

  The man grinned, “I could do with a light workout this morning.”

  We stood up and walked out to the back of the tavern. The large area was perfect for sparring. I pulled my short sword, and turned my body to the side. The mercenary captain drew a longsword and stayed squared up, his blade angled.

  After a few seconds of intense staring, I inched closer to the captain. A quick feint let me know he wouldn’t fall that easily. We clashed a couple times, testing strength and speed. I was faster, but with the years of experience, my opponent was more economical and able to block the movements.

  Some minutes went by and neither of us could land a solid blow. Sweat beaded on the captain’s forehead, and he started breathing hard before pulling back and sheathing his sword.

  “You aren’t half bad.”

  “I can see why you are the captain of a mercenary group.” I sheathed my sword by its partner. “It hasn’t convinced me to join your group.”

  “I’m Rolf.” He stuck his hand out, “Captain of the Southern Dire Wolves.

  “Gantz, bounty hunter.” I grasped his forearm.

  Rolf laughed, “So who taught you to swing your sword like that?”

  “My master.”

  “Who was that?”

  “Charon.”

  Rolf’s face went slack as the blood drained from it. The man who had taught me to fight was the most wanted man in the world after he killed half the ruling family in cold blood. To him it was as easy as taking a stroll through the park, and anyone who caught him would never have to worry about the next ten generations working. His name was one gifted by his enemies.

  “I don’t know where he is. He left me just before killing all those royals.” I took a breath, “I’ve been looking for him ever since.”

  Rolf looked at me, “Are you a Mage?”

  I sighed, maybe one in five born had the ability to become a Mage, and less than half of those were capable enough to do more than party tricks. Any child who showed signs of being a capable wielder was taken to the Mage Tower and trained until they came of age. “I have some ability, but I’m not an expert. Are you?”

  Rolf grinned, “I can make myself a little faster, and last a little longer in a fight.”

  I nodded, “Thanks for the exercise, I’ll see you around, Rolf.”

  Chapter 2

  The Council was housed in the main building at the center of town, a few buildings down from the tavern. It was a quick walk, and I quick chat with one of the clerks to get a license to redeem bounties in town. Five gold coins was the price, and I also received an updated list on all the current bounties.

  I flipped through the sheaf of papers, glancing at rewards and faces. Most
of the bounties were low, and not worth my time. One bounty on a particular group of thieves looked promising. I studied the details closely, and then began my investigation.

  It took me a week before I found the bandit camp hidden in the forest. They had been set up for some time, and the camp looked more like a fortified town than a hastily set up camp of tents. For a few days I studied the patrol patterns of the guards and got a count of the bandits. There were almost a hundred of them, most experienced in killing and their leader had at least four surrounding him at all times.

  My camp was set up a full mile from theirs, hidden in a small natural cave that allowed me to have a fire without being detected. I didn’t sleep in the cave for fear of being trapped, instead opting for a shelf just above it as a safety precaution. It was half a week into my observation when I found my temporary campsite occupied.

  “Comfortable?”

  My question caused the figure to jump, and on instinct I dodged to the side just as a flash of silver went by where my head was. Before I could draw my blade, the person undid their hood.

  “Gantz, it’s been awhile.” Her voice was low and husky, and very familiar to me.

  “8 cycles of the moon. You changed your hair, Yulia.” I looked her up and down, noting the tight leather armor that hugged her curves and the easy to reach knives, with two missing from their sheaths. Her hair last time had been a deep red, but now it was shorter and black in color.

  She sheathed the knife in her hand, “I didn’t know this was your site, I thought I had gotten lucky.” She smiled, “Apparently I got very lucky.”

  I struggled to keep from smiling in return. Yulia had found me a month after Charon had left, and attempted to kill me. It was only after a brutal fight that she believed I had no clues as to his whereabouts or his motives for the massacre. “What are you doing here?”

  “The bounty for the bandit clan leader. I thought I might cash in on it.” Yulia sat on a rock. “I’m guessing you’re here for the same reason?”

  I took a seat on a rock across from her, with the small fire between the two of us. “I need some traveling money.”

  “500 gold will get you pretty far.” Yulia leaned back, “You shouldn’t need the money after the bounty from last time.”

  “I could say the same to you.” I shrugged, “There’s something I want to buy, and it’s pretty expensive.”

  “We split 5000 gold less than a year ago, what the Hel are you buying?”

  I grinned, “A Hel-forged blade set.”

  Yulia’s jaw dropped. Hel-forged blades took almost a year to forge due to the complexity of the process and the absurd amount of skill involved. Only a few blacksmiths had the requisite knowledge/skill and they worked for kings. Charon had used Hel-forged blades, earning them while he was the Royal Guardian for the nobles he had ended up killing years later. Magic was involved during the process, and finding an Adept to participate was half the cost of the entire process. In total, a single Hel-forged dagger cost around 2000 gold. A full set would be enough to buy a castle or two. “How much are you spending?”

  “I haven’t found the blacksmith yet, but I can do the magic side on my own so it’ll keep the cost down.” I leaned back against cave wall. “What’d you spend your half on?”

  “I had a debt to pay.” Yulia grimaced, “It’s all squared now.”

  “Okay.” I took a second to study her again, “Are you averse to working together again?”

  Yulia smiled, “Same as last time?”

  I smiled back, “The exact same?”

  “If you think you’re up for it.”

  We spent the next hour going over different plans for taking out the leader of the clan. I made a drawing of the camp, throwing in details and outlining what I had seen. Yulia added her own observations into the mix, and we came to the agreement that just the two of us could not take on the entire camp. Assassination was an option, but the infiltration and exfiltration were the hardest parts. In the end, we agreed that we needed a distraction to allow for the infiltration. Leaving would mean running like demons were chasing us.

  “So you want me to cause the distraction when I don’t have an ounce of magic in my body to protect myself?” Yulia looked ready to leap over the dying fire and throttle me.

  “Just you walking into their camp will be a distraction, I don’t care how you do it. They won’t immediately attack you.” I crossed my arms and waited for a response.

  Yulia stood up, “Why don’t I just strip naked and stroll in there, lay down and put my legs behind my head?”

  “That’d be perfect, except for one flaw.”

  “Just one?”

  “You want to distract everyone but the leader. If you go in there naked, he’ll just try and take you for himself….” I trailed off, “Actually-”

  Yulia moved and grabbed the front of my shirt, “You’re actually considering it?”

  I held her stare, “It’ll protect you from being attacked, you’ll be alone with him soon afterwards and I’ll be hiding near enough to protect you the entire time without being seen.”

  This time I let her hit me, as she continued to hold my shirt. “You’re willing to take that risk with me?”

  “You won’t come to any harm.” I wasn’t smiling, “I’ll keep you protected, I promise.”

  Yulia shook her head, and in the most vulnerable way I’d ever seen her, she put her head in my chest and held me. I froze for a second before I wrapped my arms around her. We stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled away. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll kill you.”

  I watched from the top of the trees as Yulia approached the camp. She was dressed in her light leather armor minus the hood, which was more than enough to keep the guards from attacking straight away. A brief conversation and a couple minutes of waiting brought the leader to the gate with his guards. The gate opened, and I made my move.

  All eyes were on Yulia, which made getting over the wall unseen very easy. I flitted between the tents, following her to the main structure in the center of the camp. It was the only two story structure, and I swarmed up to the roof. There was a gap just big enough for me to slip through even with my blades strapped to my body. My sword was on Yulia’s horse, and I had a few daggers along with my short sword if I needed to fight my way through.

  The rafters gave me a nice view as I hid in the shadows. The leader walked in just behind Yulia, and the two of them were in the center of the four guards. I watched as two of the guards made motions, dispelling a ward that prevented intrusion into the central room. For a brief second I toyed with the idea of placing my own ward to lock them all in the room in order to prevent reinforcements, but then I figured they would be able to feel the flow of the ether get disturbed.

  Instead I dipped into my own reserves to prevent their sensing me, and waited until all four were standing outside the door to guard from intruders. After another half minute of building, I unleashed my spell in one instant. There was no warning, and no way for them to counter it. The guards were left frozen in a single moment, and would remain that way for two minutes.

  My body began to tremble from the exertion, drained by the size of the spell. I dropped from my perch in the rafters, making no sound. I opened the door to see Yulia struggling with the bandit leader. Her back was to the wall, and his hands were making their way to her throat. Just as he made contact, I slid my knife into the base of his skull with no more effort than than it took to lean against a wall.

  Yulia moved to the side as her assailant slid down the wall. She was breathing heavy, “I had him.”

  I nodded, “I know, but we have a minute before the guards get unfrozen.”

  She began moving towards the door, and then it hit her, “You were able to freeze four people? Two of them are magics.”

  It was a well-known rule that when people with magic went against each other, the one with the largest ether reserve was most likely to win. You either hit your opponent with a spell too c
harged for them to counter, or slowly wear them down.

  “Yes, and we have to go.” I walked out the door to see my spell still holding strong.

  Yulia followed me out the building, and we mounted the horse with me riding behind her. I reached into the ether, careful not to pull too much and send myself into ethershock, and set some of the surrounding areas on fire. It worked perfectly as a distraction, letting us slip away with a bloody bag bouncing from the saddle.

  Chapter 3

  I woke up at the inn, to find the room empty. It had been a week since Yulia and I had turned in the bounty for the bandit leader. The Town Council was pleased that it had been resolved so quickly, and they agreed to overlook the fact that Yulia didn’t have a license from them. The rest of the time had been spent inside the inn, where we spent almost every waking moment getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies. When I finished packing my things, I made my way to the common room. This time there wasn’t anyone but the owner awake.