Chapter 18: Ch. 18: A Hard Bargain

“Did they get the buds?” Sethi asked suddenly. “I saw them searching you before the big one hit me in the face.”

His brother shook his head, wearing a crooked grin. “Nah. I kept a few on me, they never would've believed we didn't have any buds on us at all. But I buried the rest in the dirt by the left wheel.”

“Thanks for stopping me earlier, Io,” Kate murmured as the Guardian spun around her head in anxious circles. “I still feel bad for running and hiding, but it was the right call.” She lifted her gauntlet and looked at it with mild disgust. She'd been completely useless. Again. But this was worse than watching Gren fight monsters alone. “Io, will I ever get any offensive Support spells? Something that could've helped last night?”

Io hovered comfortingly by her shoulder. Don't go down that way of thought. Remember, once you find a party, things will be better. You'll see.

It hadn't answered her question, and that made her more depressed. The answer must be no. “Well, at least the ring was a lifesaver. I guess it really does work.”

“The ring?” Yasu glanced over from where he was digging up the buds.

She lifted her hand, flashing the dark stone at him. “If someone I'm afraid of touches me, they get damaged. It gets worse the more often they grab me.”

He grinned. “Now that is useful. And I'm very glad you have it. It takes a weight off my shoulders. I was wondering what the hell they kept yelling about.”

Sethi handed Kate the rumpled bag that had once held their camping supplies. “See if there's anything useful still in there.” He hoisted himself into the cart and began digging through the opened crates.

Kate turned the bag upside down and shook it gently. Out fell the dented cauldron, a wooden stirring spoon, a pair of patched pants, and her spare skirt, the first one Marla had given her. Feeling around in the corners of the bag, the only other thing she retrieved was a small cloth wrapped around a wedge of cheese. She sighed. “I think this cheese may be the only food they left us.”

“There's a few vegetables they missed,” Sethi announced, holding up what looked like a small head of brown lettuce. She hoped the color was natural in Giltar and not a sign of it rotting. “But we'll have to try our luck with hunting if we want to fill our bellies.”

“With what?” Yasu held up half of a long familiar stick. “They snapped your spear in half.”

“Damn.”

“Should we go back?” Kate suggested.

Yasu shook his head, tossing the broken spear aside. “No, we're halfway there at this point. We may as well keep going. If we're lucky we'll run across fellow travelers who may take pity on us and give us a bite to eat or, Gurn willing, a lift to town.” He held up his dirty little bag of money, shaking it slightly. “At least they didn't find this. We can pay a bit for a ride if it comes to that.”

In the end there was a depressingly small amount of things left that the bandits hadn't picked over, and even less than that they could carry. Into the big bag went the cauldron, the cheese, the one remaining blanket, their few spare clothes, and two dirtied bundles of wool that had rolled under the cart. Sethi settled the strap over his shoulder, leaving Yasu with a small sack of vegetables and Kate with an even smaller bag of miscellaneous trade items that the bandits had either missed in the dark or deemed not worth the trouble.

They made their way back to King's Road and started out again towards Ganstown. After only an hour of walking, Kate already missed the cart. It had been uncomfortable and loud, but at least she hadn't had to walk. Her calves were already burning and even inside the soft moccasin-like shoes her feet felt worn down. She hoped she wasn't blistering. By halfway through the second hour she was stumbling along, trailing far behind. She cursed her low Strength and Dexterity stats. The brothers, on the other hand, seemed to have tireless energy, and their longer legs gave them what she thought an unfair advantage. Yasu finally glanced back and realized how far back she'd fallen and called a stop.

“Let's rest. Poor Kate looks ready to fall over.”

They settled gratefully into the grass at the side of the road and passed around their one remaining canteen and the wedge of cheese. It was a sad meal on hungry stomachs, but it was better than nothing.

“How long will it take to walk there?” Kate asked wearily, dreading the answer.

“I'm not sure, I've never walked it before.” Sethi tried on a playful grin, but it died quickly. “I assume it will add on another couple of days to the trip, especially since you're clearly not used to walking so far. At least we don't have to worry about being robbed again. We've nothing left to take.”

Kate barely heard his last comment. A faint sound had reached her ears, and she got quickly to her feet. “Do you hear that?”

Yasu tilted his head to the side, listening, then also stood. “Wagon wheels. Coming the wrong way, though. No hope of a lift.”

“But maybe some food or supplies,” Sethi said, hopping up. They stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting tensely, until at last a wagon swung into view. It was even larger than the first they'd passed on their journey. Kate's mouth opened slightly at the sight of it. It was an actual covered wagon. Like Oregon Trail covered wagon. It was also surrounded by armed guards. One of them spotted the trio and pointed, his other hand falling to the short sword at his belt.

The figure steering the two tarras from the wagon seat stood halfway up to see them better. An animated discussion, too far away to overhear, went on for a minute or two between the driver and the guards. As the covered wagon approached, Yasu lifted his hand, palm out, by his ear. The greeting for strangers. Kate quickly copied him.

The driver answered in kind, then gave a tug to the reins as his wagon came up alongside them. The Giltarian was older than either brother, and his weather-worn face creased with a teasing smile as he leaned over to address them. Kate couldn't help but notice that his clothes seemed of a much finer style and cut than any she'd seen so far. “Efret the merchant, at your service. Member of the Merchant's Guild. Well, now. Here's an unusual sight. My guards here were sure you lot were here to lure us into an ambush.” His glittering blue eyes lingered on Kate. “But I said now what kind of bandits would have a Hero with them?”

“She could be their captive,” the first guard grunted, eyeing Kate with suspicion. “To lull you into a false sense of security.” Even as he spoke, the other four guards had spread out and were looking around carefully for any signs of trouble.

“I'm not a captive,” Kate said firmly. Io bobbed once in confirmation. “These are my friends. We're heading to Ganstown.”

“We got robbed in the night,” Sethi explained.

“Awful polite robbers, not to bash your faces in and leave you for dead,” the driver noted.

“We knew better than to put up a fight,” Yasu said calmly.

“They're lying,” the guard growled. “Bandits would've beat them up just for fun. And they'd have taken the girl.”

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Kate frowned at him. “I hid.”

“Hid?” Efret laughed. “Not a Fighter class, then? Or are you just weak?” Despite the words, he sounded shrewd rather than insulting.

“Weak,” Yasu said quickly. “Which is why we agreed to escort her. Look, I know it's asking a lot, but is there any way you could spare some supplies? We haven't got any food between us aside from a bit of cheese. We could pay you.”

“Sure, why not,” Efret said genially, leaning back in his seat and looking them all over once more. “You look like a bedraggled lot, even if the bandits were polite enough not to muss you up too bad. Sorry, but I'll have to charge you extra for the unusual circumstances.”

“Sir--” the guard started to protest.

But Efret spoke right over him. “Ran into bandits ourselves, actually. In broad daylight, if you can believe it. Not two hours ago.” He spat over the side into the dirt in disgust. “Pack of fiends. They managed to make off with the tarras foal I had tied behind the wagon. I need to make up for the loss somehow, so I'm afraid the price of my food is going to go up. The bastards bit off more than they could chew, though. Oren and his men were worth the price, let me tell you.”

The guard seemed to puff up just a bit at the praise despite himself. “They managed to get one of us,” he admitted a bit sourly. “We made them pay for it before they scattered.”

“I'm sorry for the loss of your man,” Yasu said.

“He's not dead, just moaning inside,” Efret jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating the wagon. “Just a busted leg. Damned shame. If the bandits are going to hound us the whole way, I hate to be a body short.”

Kate glanced quickly at Yasu. He shook his head once without looking at her.

“How much for some supplies?” he asked.

“Oren, hop in and fill a sack with some food.” The driver rubbed thoughtfully at his chin, eyeing the brothers up and down as Oren moved to obey. “Well, I'm feeling gracious, so let's say... forty roses.”

Sethi made a sputtering sound.

Kate could see Yasu's jaw clench. “I've already been robbed once, thank you.”

“And I'm deeply sorry about that. But I'm a merchant, not a priest. Forty roses to keep from starving on the way to Ganstown, take it or leave it.”

Kate turned her head slightly to stare at Io.

It shivered slightly, mental voice reluctant. Revealing your identity to bandits and the like is obviously a mistake. But if this man is really from the Merchant's Guild-- which does seem possible due to his clothes and the amount of guards he's hired –then that gives you some leverage. Heroes are protected by the Crown. And the Merchant's Guild technically works for the Crown. If he tried to take advantage of you, he'd be breaking the law. In front of witnesses, no less.

Kate made a mental note to ask more about the Crown and Guilds later. “Did you give your injured man a potion?” she asked innocently.

Efret snorted. “I could spare one. But it will still take a few days for it to heal something like a busted leg. Why, are you going to offer me an extra potion? That could knock the price of food down by, say, five buds.”

“Potions are worth a lot more than that,” she retorted, remembering how expensive Io had said potions were.

Efret's mouth spread in a slow smile. “If you weren't a Hero, I'd say you have the makings of a merchant yourself, girl. Fine. Ten buds off.”

“We don't have any--” Sethi gave an oof as his brother elbowed him in the ribs. Yasu was frowning slightly at Kate, but he didn't stop her.

“So if I can help you heal your injured guard, you'll take ten buds off the price of the food?”

“That's right, girly.”

“Fifteen,” Yasu interrupted. “It's a very good potion.”

“How about this.” Efret propped his elbow on his knee and leaned over to grin at them in amusement. “We'll see after you give him the potion to see how good it is. Ten if it's ordinary, fifteen if it takes away at least half the damage.” He held his hand out towards her, palm up.

“Deal,” Kate said promptly. Yasu reached past her and smacked his palm against Efret's, obviously sealing the deal.

Oren came back from around the wagon holding a sack of food. He glanced from his employer to Kate, frowning. He'd clearly overheard at least some of the conversation. “Fine, but we bring him out here. I don't want her in there with the goods in case she gets sticky fingers.”

Efret waved a hand indulgently.

Two of the guards went around to the back of the wagon and untied the canvas covering to make a hole. They climbed in, then several minutes later came back out slower, carefully carrying a sweating man out on a board. They set him gently on the ground. His leg had a rough splint on it and he was white-faced with pain, but he made no noise of protest.

Efret hopped down from the wagon and leaned against the side of it, crossing his arms over his chest. He nodded at the fallen man, still grinning. “Potion time, Hero.”

Kate walked over to the man and stood over him. She almost knelt down, but thought better of it. There was no need, and it looked like the stones in the road would only hurt her knees. She pointed directly at the broken leg. “Help.”

The man gasped, his face immediately filling with color. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared first down at his leg, then up at Kate with stark relief.

Oren and the other guards immediately began muttering, their eyes wide. Even Efret's grin had frozen in place.

“It feels so much better,” the hurt guard moaned. “Can I... can I walk on it?”

“Hold on a minute.” Kate counted the seconds down in her head, ignoring the stares of the men. When a minute was up she pointed again. Best to be thorough, she reasoned. “Help.”

The man shuddered, a big smile breaking out on his face. Before anyone could stop him, he pushed himself off the ground and got unsteadily to his feet. A few guards reached out, but he brushed them off. Triumphantly he began pacing back and forth. “It's healed! Completely healed!”

“Well.” Efret finally seemed to have regained his voice. His smile looked forced. “A healer. How tricky of you, Hero. I applaud you.” He sighed loudly and rolled his eyes, and this time his smile seemed more genuine. “Beat me at my own game. Oh, very well. Ten roses for the food. I'm feeling generous.”

That was an even better deal than she'd haggled for, and she watched happily as Yasu traded roses for the sack of food Oren held out to him.

“That explains why your friends here don't look like they got pounded on by a pack of bandits,” Efret observed. He was eyeing Kate with renewed interest. “I don't suppose I could hire you to come along with me to the coast? Free of charge, of course. You can pay for the trip with any healing we need along the way.”

“No thank you,” she said politely. “I have to meet up with my party.”

“What a shame. Well, it's encouraging to know there are powerful healers back in the world. All these sword-swinging Heroes have their uses, but one healer is worth their weight in gold. What's your name, kid?”

“It's Kate.”

“Kate. I'll remember you. Maybe we'll cross paths some day by the coast. Look me up if you're ever down that way and I'll set you up with some nice Hero gear. All right, you lot, let's get a move-on. I'm not paying you to stand around looking important.”

As Efret swung back up into his seat, Oren bobbed his head towards Kate respectfully.

Kate and the brothers backed away as the wagon set off again. Once they were far out of earshot, Sethi gave a whoop of excitement that startled Kate.

“Brilliant! I can't believe you outsmarted someone from the Merchant's Guild, Kate. It looks like our luck has turned.”

“Yes, thank you,” Yasu said more slowly. “We'll need what little buds we have. But that was a bit of a risk for you, Kate. Did you see how hungry his eyes got? He'd have loved having a healer on his retainer.”

“Io said the Merchant's Guild reports to the Crown, and that it'd be a crime for them to interfere with my Hero duties or whatever. Is that true?”

“Yes. But it was still a gamble. If the guards were paid well enough to look the other way, if the merchant was corrupt... You could have ended up in the back of that wagon.”

“The chance was slim,” Sethi disagreed. “She's right, it's illegal. No merchant with brains would take the risk of going to the hangman's noose for a fledgling healer, and Efret is clearly no fool. Anyway, never mind that. I'm still starving. Let's have an actual meal before we set out again.”