“And besides, we’re talking a silver a head here,” Vason replied. “Not like it’s life-changing money for any of us. If we can get our coin, great. If not, I don’t know if it’s worth a fight. We could just bail.”
Everyone nodded.
Tia turned to Vir. “You sound well practiced at this kind of thing. We’ll let you determine when we ought to make our move.”
“Understood. I’m guessing another hour should be ideal. Once we’re in the woods, it’ll be a lot harder for the caravan guards to surround us.”
Trees enveloped the wagons, and unlike the Godshollow, this forest was quite dense with smaller trees and shrubs.
Vir nodded at Vason, who flagged down Haymi and Tia. Despite Aryan telling them to divide between the front and the rear of the caravan, they’d cloistered near the middle after the last rest break. Not so close that it’d raise suspicion, but close enough to communicate via gestures and nods.
Without a word, all four brought their Ash’va’s up to the head of the convoy, where Aryan sat with a guard. One guard riding on his wagon, and two more mounted on Ash’va nearby.
Vir pulled alongside the leader.
“We’ve made our decision,” Vir said. “We can’t accept the alternative payment you’d suggested. We’d like our payment in coin, and we’d like half now, owing to the nature of what you’re carrying.”
“Doesn’t work that way. If you can’t accept my payment, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. I got no coppers to give you.”
“That so?” Vir said, facing forward.
There was no hesitation. One moment, he idled on his Ash’va, and by the next, he’d already jumped onto Aryan’s wagon, forcing the guard beside him off with the impact of his Leap.
Tia and Vason drew alongside the other two guards as Aryan’s guard went tumbling onto the road.
“So,” Vir said, his katar blade at Aryan’s throat. “Do you feel like paying us now?”
Aryan locked eyes with him for a long moment, his hands still on the reins. Then he sighed, retrieving his coin bag.
Vir fished out two silvers and fifty coppers for Spear’s Edge, and fifty for himself.
“I’ve taken half for services rendered thus far. You’re on your own from now on.”
Vir jumped back to Bumpy, then gave the sign to Spear’s Edge. Most of the caravan guards still hadn’t realized anything was wrong, but the situation wouldn’t remain that way for long.
With a jerk of the reins, Bumpy split off into the woods, and Spear’s Edge followed. Another ten minutes of forest riding put them far ahead of the caravan, and Vir guided them back to the road, where they sped up. Aryan and his crew weren’t anywhere in sight.
“Well, that’s gotta be a first,” Tia said as they trotted. “Don’t think we’ve ever completed a contract quite like that before. Y’know, they say there’s a spirit that dwells in these forests, watching all that happens within it. Maybe the spirit’s blessing was with us today.”
Vir glanced at the freckled blonde. “There used to be a similar myth about the forest I grew up near. Rumors of a white ghost. Turned out to be a man dressed in white. An imposing, impressive man, but a mortal nonetheless. I’d take these myths with a grain of salt.”
“And ruin my sense of wonder?” Tia said, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead. Dressed in her armor, the gesture left Vir unconvinced.
Shaking his head, he handed over Tia’s portion. “It’s such a small sum, but it didn’t feel right getting the full value out of Aryan. I only took half of what we were owed.”
Tia reached over from her mount to pat his shoulder. “Honorable. I like that. Besides, half of nothing is still nothing. We picked this contract to make something along the road to Avi. Not like we were relying on the money, anyway. But you did really well back there. I was expecting a messy fight, but you got the money and got out before anyone ever knew what happened.”
“Thanks,” Vir said. “It was lucky Aryan didn’t resist. Would’ve made things a lot harder if he had.”
“Really? With the skills you showed, I think it’d have gone just swimmingly,” Tia said, flashing a grin.
Several hours of riding put them at Eshana. Unlike practically every major town Vir had heard of, Eshana lacked a wall, with only a handful of guards along the forest road. Its idyllic feel and position next to the forest reminded Vir of Brij, but that was where all similarities ended.
Like Zorin, Eshana was a vibrant place, with wagons and Ash’va moving over its well-manicured cobblestone roads and tile roofs dyed in every hue imaginable. It wasn’t quite as bustling or crowded as Zorin, but it avoided coming across as sleepy.
Once they’d flashed their Brotherhood plaques and entered the town, Tia glanced at Haymi and Vason, who gave her an exasperated look.
“Say, Param. Why don’t you accompany us to the Brotherhood building here? We can file our mission report and gain accommodations.”
Vir nodded, oblivious to Tia’s trap. Right up until they all got a table at the tavern.
“Don’t worry, it’s on me,” Tia said, gesturing to the meal and drink laid out before them. It was an impressive selection that tasted as delectable as it looked, with a myriad of fruit, vegetables, and even fried condensed soy milk. While it lacked taste on its own, when dipped into the various chutney sauces, the result was divine.
Tia looked at Vir with the eyes of predators while he gorged himself.
“What’s going on?” he asked, suddenly feeling like a cornered animal.
Tia cleared her throat. “So, the thing is, we want you to join our party.”
10BONDS OF KINSHIP
Vir froze halfway to the fried potatoes.
“Come again?”
“Join up with us! I mean, just for now, of course. It’d give you a lot of benefits, and we’ve been looking for a fourth for some time.”
A thousand thoughts went through Vir’s mind, but all of them said one thing: no way. He operated alone. He was a being with a secret. A secret that was far more likely to come out the more he trusted anyone.
But how do I refuse such a generous offer?
Not only would he gain access to better contracts working as a party, but he’d always wanted to experience fighting with mejai support. He just never thought he’d get the chance.
“Isn’t this a bit premature? We’ve only just met, after all.”
“Maybe true, but we’ve seen you fight,” Vason said. “We saw how you only took half of Aryan’s money, though you’d have been well within your rights to take all of our share. You get along with us, you’re great in a fight, and you fill a much-needed gap in our party.”
“That’s… I’m honored, but I’ve always worked alone, y’know?”
“And I know just how badly you crave joining a party,” Tia said softly. “I can see it in the way you look at us. You want this, don’t you, Param? So why refuse? What are you afraid of?”
“I…” Vir found his words catching in his throat. Yes, he was worried about his secret getting out, and for good reason. Vir was no doubt being hunted by Hiranya. The more who knew who he was, the more danger he was in.
But is that all?
It felt like there was something else that held him back, and he couldn’t quite place it.
“I don’t know. Can you give me time to think about this?”
Tia smiled. “Of course. It’s a big decision. Besides, you’re headed to Avi, too, yeah?”
“How’d you know?”
Tia rolled her eyes. “Everyone bound this way is. You want in on the cave dive, don’t you?”
Vir nodded slowly. “The Executor at Zorin mentioned a free-for-all. That a mining company was scouting as many mercs as they could find for this one.”