Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Conflict

Chapter 11

Conflict

It felt as if I had only slept for an hour or two before all the animals in the stables began clamoring for their morning meals. Blue, predictable as ever, began to stamp his hooves and demand food as well, joining in the chorus of neighs and whinnies throughout the stalls.

I grudgingly hauled myself up from my nest, and began pulling straw from my tangled red hair. I waved down the stable boy, who looked as if he’d slept about as poorly as I had; his face was still smudged with dirt and his eyes were leary under a mop of unruly hair. He shuffled over and helped me hoist the pack back onto Blue’s back.

“Thank you,” I said, shaking his hand appreciatively.

He nodded, a tired smile flickering across his face, before hurrying off to assist with other animals needing to be packed or hitched to their wagons.

I fed Blue his morning meal from a large bucket of feed that had been left on the gate of the stall. After he had his fill, I led him outside amidst the busy patrons preparing their own wagons to leave.

Despite having just been fed, Blue began to nip at the back of my shirt as he searched my pockets trying to find a hidden snack.

“What’s your problem?” I chided, my patience thin from a lack of sleep.

He merely nodded his head aggressively toward this back, clearly protesting his new role as my pack animal.

“You’ll be fine, I’ll even get you some carrots if you do a good job for me today.”

Blue instantly clamped his mouth shut and walked quietly beside me, sneaking expectant glances from the corner of his eye, as if calculating just how many carrots I would owe him by the end of the day.

I led Blue to the front of the tavern, where I tied him to a post and patted his flank affectionately, his warm fur rough under my hand.

“You wait here for a bit, I’m going to see if I can find some people we can travel with today and grab some breakfast while I’m at it.”

Blue simply snorted at me in response.

“Yes, and some carrots too” I added, as I turned to walk away.

As I stepped through the doors of the tavern, I was surprised to find the it was much busier than it had been the night before. Mr. Fairfield and his wife moved in perfect rhythm as they filled mugs and distributed plates of food to the many hungry people that had packed into the cozy tavern. I had hoped to find Grace eating breakfast as well, but it appeared she was either still in bed or had already stepped out for the morning.

The scent of sizzling bacon, fluffy eggs, and freshly baked bread filled the air with a mouthwatering aroma that wrapped around me like a warm blanket. My stomach growled, and the hunger I’d been ignoring finally awakened with a vengeance.

As I approached the bar, Grace’s father called out to me, his voice hearty over the hum of conversation.

“Morning Sam, what can I do for you? Need a bite before you head out?”

“That would be great,” I said, settling onto a barstool, its polished wood creaking under my weight. “Any meat and bread you have left, I’d be most appreciative of and a few carrots for my donkey..”

“Aye, I have plenty” he replied, as he slid me a heaping plate of meat, bread, and potatoes, all smothered in rich, savory gravy. “That’ll be a five copper for the breakfast and a sack of carrots.”

I placed a gold coin on the counter, its weight heavy in my hand.

“This is all I have, any chance you can make change?”

“Oh, easy enough, we’ve had plenty of coin come through here since yesterday,” he said, scooping up the gold coin. A moment later, he placed nine silvers and five coppers in front of me, their clink against the wood a reassuring sound in the bustling tavern.

As I ate the breakfast I made sure to savor every bite, as I wasn’t sure how long it would be before I had another proper meal while traveling.

“This is incredible” I said, letting out an audible sigh of contentment as the warmth of the food settled into my bones.

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“I would hope so, my Mrs. would be angry if her path didn’t add a little something to her cooking. That plate should be enough to satisfy you even after a full days journey.”

I nodded appreciatively as I scraped up the last bits of gravy with the bread that had been provided.

“Do you by chance know anyone I can ask about joining their caravan on the way out of town?”

As he gathered up my dishes, Grace’s father pointed toward a small portly fellow sitting at a large table. The man was barking orders to several men gathered around himself and it appeared that he was not in the best of moods.

His bald head and thick, bushy mustache stood out sharply in the room, as did his bright blue traveling clothes, which strained valiantly to contain his ample figure.

“That there is Mr. Thindle Mayberry, he’s an unpleasant man to deal with, but he is the head of the merchants guild in The Belt. All caravans supplying the festivals ultimately answer to him and his pocketbook. I am only recommending him as he is known to travel with a fairly large contingent of guards provided by the guild.”

“Thank you” I said appreciatively. “I hope to pay back your hospitality one day and maybe next time I’ll get to claim a bed for myself. Though..I’ll admit, that bundle of straw wasn’t too bad.”

He laughed and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, lad. Just take care of yourself. The world gets a lot bigger and a lot more dangerous once you leave the security of The Belt.”

As Grace’s father suggested, I made my way towards the merchant who was currently surrounded by his entourage at the center of the tavern. I waited patiently until he was done speaking with some surly looking men under his employ and upon seeing my opportunity I took a step forward to introduce myself.

“Can I help you boy?” he said dismissively, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Yes sir” I replied, my voice was more timid than I intended. “I was hoping to join your caravan on the way out of town today. I have business in the south and would appreciate traveling with a group.”

He eyed me for a long minute, his thick mustache twitched slightly, and the bright blue fabric of his clothes strained as he leaned back, sizing me up as if I were goods at a market.

“Along with an upfront cost, you’ll be required to help set up camp, tend our animals, and also work with the cook to prepare meals for the caravan.”

“How much is the cost?”

“For the protection offered by my guards and to eat a meal per day, it will cost you two gold coins per week to travel with us. Truthfully, I should charge you more but today I am feeling quite generous.”

My inexperience with negotiation was immediately put on display for all to see. Two gold coins seemed excessive but I didn’t have anything to compare it with. I also didn’t know how dangerous the roads would be the farther I travelled south and away from Wheat Hollow.

As I looked over the men that had gathered around the merchant, a chill crept down my spine. My instincts were screaming at me to walk away but the gathering had subtly began to close around me, cutting off any hopes of simply walking away.

“Well boy, what’s it gonna be?” Mr Mayberry asked, giving me a toothy smile. “It would be a shame for something bad to happen on your first trip away from home.”

“Two gold coins?” A voice called out from the other side of the wall of men. “You old toad, why not rob him now and save yourself the performance? Young man, travel with me, it won’t cost you nothing, except some help setting up camp at night.”

The Guild Master stood up, his face was red with rage at the interloping voice in the crowd. Within his blue suit, his red cheeks gave him the appearance of a berry that was being squeezed a little too hard, right at the point of bursting.

“Who the hell are you to interfere with my business?”

The crowd of men parted, revealing an older man wearing a wide brimmed straw hat with white hair visible beneath the brim. He wasn’t large by any means, but his frame spoke of years of hard labor, giving him the appearance of an old workhorse.

Beside him stood a nervous, blonde haired youth a few years younger than myself. He was in that awkward stage of adolescence where his limbs had outpaced the rest of his body, he was tall but not yet steady, like a colt still learning how to stand.

“My name is Hershel Claybrook and I’m not sure what business you’re talking about. If you mean extorting a young man who doesn’t know any better then I suppose that’s business for an old snake like you.”

Mr. Mayberry’s rage finally boiled over as he spat out a curse at the older man. “You’ve insulted me twice this morning in front of my men, I’m afraid this is an offense I cannot tolerate Mr. Claybrook. Kull, Kell, take this man outside and teach him some manners.”

At his words, two large men with shaved heads pushed back their chairs and made their way to stand beside the merchant. If I had to guess, they were likely siblings, at the very least, as their identical builds and cold stares mirrored each other perfectly as they began to pull knives from their belts.

Before things could escalate any further, Grace’s father moved between the men and attempted to calm the situation before it inevitably led to violence.

“Hey now gentlemen no need to be so testy this early in the morning. Master Mayberry, thank you for your patronage, and please don’t worry about the cost for your rooms. If you and your men can leave peacefully I’ll even say breakfast is on the house. That should more than enough to make up for any money you might have gotten out of young Sam here.”

The plump mans rage seemed to subside at the thought of not parting with his coin. After mulling it over for a moment, he waved his men back and called out a few sharp orders for his crew to begin preparing their departure

Before walking away himself, Mr Mayberry turned to face me and the man Hershel in turn.

“I do not forget faces and I certainly do not forget names of those who would insult me. You would do well not to cross my path in the future. The roads outside of this shit hole of a town are far more dangerous than you realize, boy.”

With that said, Mr. Mayberry turned around and stormed out of the tavern, throwing the doors open far harder than necessary.

“Well, that could have went better.” Hershel said, as he pulled out a pouch of ember reeds, and stuck some into his lip. “It’s always the short ones with money that you have got to watch out for.”

Having finally collected myself I turned to the man and reached out my hand. “I believe I will take you up on your offer if you’ll still have me.”

The older man nodded and patted the young man beside him on the shoulder. “This here is my grandson, Neil, we’ll be waiting for you out front whenever you’re ready. We just need to bring the wagon around.”

I nodded and then turned to apologize to Grace’s father. “Sorry to cause trouble for you Mr. Fairfield. I’ll be sure to pay the favor back one day.”

“Aye lad, see that you do” he replied, as he waved me out of the tavern.