Grand Game 286: The Strength of a Promise (Patreon)

A mailed first banged on my door, and my eyes jerked open. What time was it? Two hours couldn’t have passed already, surely? It felt like only moments ago that I’d lain my head on the pillow.

“Michael! Are you in there?”

I groaned. It was Terence. “Go away and come back in the morning,” I yelled back.

There was a pause. “It is morning,” Teresa said. “The sun has been up for ages!”

I didn’t respond. She had to be lying. There was no way I’d slept for that long.

The pair resumed banging. Covering my head with the pillow, I tried to muffle the sound. No such luck. At times like this, it didn’t pay to have sharp hearing.

“You promised to take us hunting yesterday,” Teresa shouted reproachfully.

I had, hadn’t I? What had made me do a fool thing like that? Now, I was paying for that moment of carelessness.

“Yeah, we’re not going to let you back out on your word and sneak out again,” Terence added.

Damnation… these two were relentless. “Come back later, then we can—”

“No,” Teresa said firmly. “You promised us a full day!”

I’d done no such thing, but succumbing to the inevitable, I sat up nonetheless. I doubted I was going to be able to sleep again anyway. Glancing at the closed shutter, I saw, to my surprise, that soft light was filtering through. So, Teresa hadn’t been lying entirely. It was morning—if an ungodly hour.

The twins pounded in tandem on the door again.

“All right,” I grumbled. “I’m coming.”

Marching up to the door, I yanked it open to glare at their smiling faces. “Breakfast first,” I pronounced.

✵ ✵ ✵

The common room was nearly empty, not surprising given the early hour. Shael sat alone at the only occupied table. While the twins scampered away to fetch breakfast, I sat opposite the bard.

“Morning,” I said. “You’re awake early.”

The half-elf looked up from the cup he was nursing. “Up late, actually,” he corrected, greeting me with tired eyes. He cocked his head as he took in my own appearance. “You look like you’ve been dragged out of bed.”

“That’s because I was,” I replied grouchily, my gaze drifting to the twins who were already hurrying back with a platter of food.

The bard grinned as he followed my gaze. “By them?”

I nodded as the twins arrived with the food. “Thank you,” I said. Retrieving one of my bags of holding from my backpack, I set it down on the table. “You two should eat too. And while you’re at it, look at what’s in there.”

Naturally, the pair didn’t take the hint. “What’s inside?” Teresa asked, making no effort to leave or take the bag.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s the gear I acquired for you and Terence. If we’re going to leave the safe zone, you two better be properly equipped. Contrary to what you believe, I didn’t forget my promise. I’m just running a bit behind schedule, that’s all.” I pointed to the bag neither had touched yet. “Now,” I said more forcefully, “go and re-equip yourselves with that, and let me have a private word with Shael.”

Wordlessly, Terence snatched the bag and yanked Teresa away. She went, but only reluctantly, still seeming disinclined to leave.

Shael chuckled as the twins disappeared again. “You’re really going to take them out hunting?”

I glanced at him. “You know about that?”

He smiled. “They tried to convince me to take them.” He held a hand to his chest. “I pleaded tiredness.”

I grunted. “You have a better way with words than I do, then. My own excuses fell flat.”

Shael laughed and sipped from his mug again.

Sighing, I dug into my food. I wasn’t as mad at the twins as I made out to be. I had given them my word, and it was past time I began the day, anyway.

But taking the pair out hunting did complicate matters. How was I going to search for the dire wolves with them in tow? I’d delayed my visit to the pack long enough, and now it seemed I would have to put it off again. I blew out a troubled breath.

“Problems?” Shael inquired.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” I replied, then eyed him. “How are you finding the tavern?”

“A pleasant change from Nexus,” he admitted. “I actually have a bed to sleep in, and yesterday I even earned some decent coin.”

I swallowed another mouthful. “You have any plans for the future yet?”

Shael’s face grew serious. “Why? Do you need me for something?”

I nodded. “I’d like you to stay at the tavern a while longer. I’m not sure how long I will be able to remain in the valley and matters with the Marauders are far from resolved. I would feel comfortable if Saya had someone to call on if things turn ugly again.”

“Whatever you need,” Shael said. “I will stay as long as necessary.”

“I will pay you for your troubles, of course.”

The bard shook his head. “Not necessary. Saya is already paying me and providing free lodgings, too. More is not required.”

I studied him for a moment. “You sure?”

He nodded.

“Thank you, Shael,” I said gravely.

“You’re welcome, my friend.”

I stared at the bard thoughtfully. Was Shael that—a friend? My instincts said yes, but I had to be careful who I trusted and how far.

“Oh, I spoke to that merchant,” Shael said, interrupting my musings. “The one Saya was angry about.”

“Ah, and what did you find out?” I asked, already having an inkling of what he would say from the Marauder conversation I’d overheard.

“He was bribed, but interestingly enough, by two separate parties.”

“Oh?” I asked, sitting up in sudden interest.

Shael nodded. “One, as we suspected, was the Marauders. They wanted the tavern cut off from outside help and paid the merchant to stop the flow of messages. The second party was more interesting. She asked for a copy of the messages to be redirected to her without Kesh or Saya ever knowing. The merchant took both parties’ monies but delivered only partially on each request.”

“She?” I asked sharply.

The bard nodded solemnly. “The lady never showed her face or gave her name, but the merchant suspects her to be Loken’s envoy.”

“Of course.” Bowing my head, I rubbed my temples as I felt the onslaught of another headache coming.

It made sense. Loken had known about the tavern and Saya, and he’d quite openly warned me he’d be watching. The question was, had he learned anything?

Unlikely.

Neither Kesh nor Saya knew about my bloodline or the wolves. At best, Loken had only learned how wealthy I’d become, which was perhaps not a bad thing either. During our last meeting, the trickster had seemed convinced some mysterious faction or group had recruited me. Maybe, whatever his envoy saw in the letters would allay his fears.

My tension had eased. I had nothing to fear from the letters Loken and his followers had intercepted. But the fact they had gone to all the trouble of doing so reinforced the need for caution.

“What are you involved in?” Shael asked suddenly. “Do you belong to Loken? Is that why you asked me to deliver that message to the Shadow Keep?”

“I’m not.” I hesitated, then added reluctantly. “But Loken has taken an interest in me.”

Shael inhaled sharply. “The trickster is dangerous. You should stay far away from him.”

I grimaced. “I know, but I have little choice in the matter.” I studied him anew. “Do you want to reconsider your offer to stay? I’ll understand if you want to have no further part in this.”

“No,” he said firmly. “I will not run away.”

I nodded and refrained from asking him again if he was sure. “How did you manage to get all that from the merchant, anyway?”

Shael smiled. “I used a deception ability called guile. It wouldn’t work on someone like you, but it works wonders against a player with low Perception.”

“Interesting,” I mused. It was a pity I didn’t have more Perception slots available myself. The ability sounded useful, but before I could ask Shael for a rundown on it, the twins re-entered the room wearing their new gear.

I rose to my feet. “See you later,” I said in farewell to the bard and guided the pair outside.

✵ ✵ ✵

“Where did you get all this stuff?” Teresa asked the moment we exited the tavern.

Not checking my stride to answer her, I turned north along the street. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the twins were following if more slowly than I liked. Teresa looked the more unhappy of the pair and was peering at me suspiciously.

“Why? Don’t you want it?” I asked mildly.

“Don’t get us wrong,” Terence said, laying a restraining hand on Teresa before she could speak. “This stuff is great and all, but we can’t help but wonder what you want in return. We’ve received ‘free gifts’ before that turned out to be not all that free.”

I nodded, appreciating his explanation, and scrutinized both youths again.

I’d not been entirely sure of the pair’s skill mix, so I’d stored a variety of armor and sword pieces in the bag. In addition, I’d thrown in a tidy number of stat-boosting items. Terence, I observed, had equipped himself in plate armor and had a broadsword and shield strapped across his back.

Teresa had gone for chainmail and had a pair of longswords on her hips. I raised an eyebrow at the blades but didn’t comment. Wielding two longswords was infinitely harder than doing the same with smaller blades like mine. But both youths were taller than me, and Teresa looked like she had the height and reach to wield her chosen weapons expertly.

“I expect nothing in exchange,” I said finally. “I marked all the stuff you’re wearing for trash before realizing you two may find them handy. I assure you it costs me nothing to pass the gear on.” That was not quite true but was close enough.

“Trash? That means you didn’t buy the equipment,” Teresa said, not letting the matter go. “Where did you get it?”

I glanced at her. “From the Marauders, if you must know.”

Almost in sync, both twins’ gazes darted to the abandoned blockades on the street. The Marauders had still not returned.

“Is that where you were yesterday?” the girl asked. “Killing Marauders?”

I nodded.

“That doesn’t explain the empty barricades,” she pointed out. “No matter how many you killed, they would’ve returned.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did you make some sort of deal with them?”

I laughed. “Hardly. But right now, they’re likely reconsidering their strategy.”

“How many did you kill?” Terence asked curiously.

“All of them.”

He stared at me blankly, thinking I was joking. But when I said nothing further, he blurted, “You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“But-but…” he began before running aground.

“How did you do it?” Teresa asked. She seemed less stunned than her twin.

“I slew them in their sleep,” I replied, seeing no reason to hide the truth. The Marauders must have figured out that much by now, and as brash as the youths appeared, instilling a little fear in them would not go amiss.

Maybe, it will even be enough to make them stop asking questions.

But if anything, my answer only piqued Teresa’s interest further. “How did you catch them unawares?” she asked. “They wouldn’t have left themselves unprotected unless—” She broke off. “You snuck into their camp,” she concluded.

The girl was smarter than she looked. “I did.”

“How did you manage that?” Terence asked. “Wasn’t it warded?”

I smiled. “It was.”

That seemed to stump him for a moment, but not for long. Turning to his twin, he whispered, “Told you he was an assassin.”

“He’s more than that,” Teresa hissed back. “Now, shush. He’s looking this way.”

Smiling contentedly, I said nothing more as we left the village.