Duskbound

It took the better part of a week to reach King's Crossroad, and Velik visibly chafed at the slow speed by the end of the second day. Neither Aria nor Sildra had invested anything—or in Aria's case, not enough to matter—into physical, which meant they both wanted eight hours or more of sleep and frequent breaks throughout the day. Though in fairness to Sildra, it was more Aria who demanded they stop every hour or two, at least until Giller had started mocking her for it.

The horses also weren't high enough level to run non-stop, which meant that while they came close to matching his traveling speed when they galloped, they couldn't hold that pace for any meaningful length of time. What he could have run in a day and a half took them five to complete, but he made the best of it by doing wide loops around the road and disposing of threats wherever he found them, not that level 10 or 15 monsters were much of a threat.

Eventually, the town came into sight. It sprawled out around the intersection of the two major trading routes, eight square miles of semi-permanent buildings hugging a solid core of stonework homes and warehouses. The roads were all inflated in size, far too big to be practical in Velik's opinion. It was only after watching the town for a few minutes that he realized the reason. Even the backroads and side streets of King's Crossroad could comfortably accommodate two standard wagons passing by each other without the need for pedestrians to scurry out of the way.

The main thoroughfares were twice over that size over to allow for wagons traveling in either direction clearance while those parked on the sides were loaded and unloaded. It was all very industrious, very noisy, and absolutely stank of horse sweat and manure. Torwin must have been watching, because he started laughing the instant Velik's nose crinkled in distaste.

"Not a fan of farm smells, huh?" he asked. "It'll be worse in a month or so when the stockyards get set up. This is still early trading season since the roads leading farther north haven't solidified from the spring thaw yet."

"Gods save me from coming back through here in a month then," Velik told him.

The rest of their team was still a quarter mile back, partially hidden by a bend in the road, but the two hunters waited for everyone to catch up before advancing into the city. It was a few hours past noon, not quite early enough that even Aria could justify calling it quits, though she'd certainly tried a few times. Velik found himself missing the carriage, where at least she'd been unconscious for long portions of the trip and thus wasn't whining about anything.

"Oh thank Darshu for this bastion of civilization that has been founded in his name," Aria called out when she spotted the town. "Fresh food. Real beds. Baths. Gods, I've never wanted a bath more in my life."

Velik snorted, and at Torwin's questioning look, muttered quietly, "She said the exact same thing when we got out of that swamp a few weeks ago."

"She does that," the older hunter said with a wry smile. "Did I ever tell you about the time she got swallowed by a bombardier frog? We cut her out, but she was an absolute mess. She whined so loudly that she brought another pack of monsters down on us right on the spot."

"I'm afraid your desire for beds and baths is going to have to remain unfulfilled," Jensen told her. "We're already behind schedule and we won't be lingering in town. Torwin is going to do a quick resupply while we push straight through. He'll catch up with us farther down the road."

Sildra and even Giller accepted the news with a kind of glum resilience, but Aria immediately and loudly proclaimed, "Absolutely not! If I'd known you all planned to live like savages for this entire trip, I'd have declined to participate. I'll be staying the night here. You may proceed without me."

"I'll remind you that you are under contract to participate in this expedition," Jensen said. "If you abandon us, the punitive fines will be so enormous that I'll simply rent the spatial storage elsewhere to make up for your absence."

He's going to get knifed in his sleep, Velik thought as he saw the mutinous look on Aria's face.

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"Fine, no bed. But I will be taking a bath. We all need one."

Jensen opened his mouth to argue, but for once, Giller and Aria were in agreement. Even Sildra reluctantly stepped closer to form a united front with the other two women. Torwin just started laughing and patted his former apprentice on the shoulder. "A wise man knows when to concede defeat."

The [Vault Seeker] grumbled, but he didn't try to stop Aria when she took control of the team and pointed them to the most expensive and lavish quarter of the town. Nobody tried to contradict her choice, not even when she stopped in front of a stable where the stablehands were better dressed than anyone in their group other than Aria herself. She immediately dismounted and started giving them instructions for the care of their mounts, then swept past everyone into the inn across the street.

"Velik," Sildra said, catching his arm and dragging him off to the side, "I can't afford this kind of place! What do I do?"

"You're asking me? How would I know?" Velik hadn't even thought about paying for anything. He'd just assumed someone else would take care of it.

It wasn't like he couldn't afford a meal, however outrageous the prices ended up being, but he didn't see any reason why he'd pay for Sildra, too. If anybody was responsible for that, it seemed like it would either be Jensen as the expedition leader or Aria as the one who'd dragged them all here.

"Don't worry about it," Torwin told them both. "You're a member of a party, not the host. Just enjoy a taste of civilization after a week on the road. The next leg will be even longer, and after that it'll be months before you can enjoy the kind of luxuries Aria thinks she's entitled to."

As much as Velik would have preferred to skip King's Crossroad entirely, he couldn't deny the overall effect on the group's morale when they were all clean and well-fed. Even before the meal was through, it was plain to see that everyone was more relaxed. Even Giller and Aria were being civil with each other, though Jensen groaned in dismay when he received the bill. Velik didn't ask how much it was and found he didn't much care.

Torwin didn't agree. "Must be a doozy if even he's shocked by it," the old man whispered, leaning in close to Velik to avoid being overheard.

That's a good point. Jensen throws around thousands of decarmas on a whim. I wonder how much we just spent. Then again… "Maybe he's got a better appreciation of the value of a vitrune now that he's on the outs with his father."

"Doubt it," Torwin said. He frowned, then lowered his voice even further. "Those two guys behind you in the back corner have been watching us. They came in after we did and those outfits are a bit rough for this side of town, don't you think?"

Velik didn't need to turn his head to see them. He'd already noticed them entering, sized them up, and dismissed them as a threat twenty minutes ago. Now that Torwin pointed it out, though, "If they're going to mug us, they're the stupidest thieves to ever draw breath," Velik said. "Maybe they're bandit scouts looking for good marks to hit on the road."

Torwin didn't look convinced. "Maybe. Just keep an eye out for trouble."@@novelbin@@

"I always do."

Nobody tried anything while they were in King's Crossroad, although they lost another half an hour to Aria's renewed demands for a bed or, failing that, a luxury coach ride to Ashala for the low price of a hundred and fifty decarmas. The debate ended when Jensen told her she could hire one herself, or she could ride the horse he'd already paid for.

A sullen Aria brought up the tail end of their procession as they rode out the south gate while Giller led the way, a huge smirk on her face. Sildra road next to Jensen, the whole way going on about how delicious the food had been. Velik had to admit that it had been among the best meals of his life, but he couldn't see himself going back again if the price was really that bad.

Velik quickly made himself scarce for the rest of the evening. They stopped an hour after the sun went down, and the only reason they went that late into the evening was because they were pushing for a traveler's campsite Torwin knew about. It had been their intended goal all along, but the delays in King's Crossroad had kept them from reaching it in time, forcing Aria to use some sort of skill that generated light to let the horses keep going.

Jensen and Torwin handled the brunt of setting up camp while Velik disappeared into the fields to see about claiming some meat to supplement their supplies. A nice venison steak sounded ideal to him, even if he couldn't take the time to jerk the meat before they had to get moving again. Unfortunately, the lands near the road weren't nearly wild enough for him to find big game easily, and he gave up after a few hours.

It was sometime after midnight and he was lazily dozing with his back to a tree and his spear laying on the ground next to him when Giller stirred from her bedroll. She climbed to her feet and grabbed her sword, then nudged Torwin with her foot. His gentle snores cut out immediately.

Velik was on his feet the instant Giller stood up, so he was already approaching when she turned his way. "What is it?" he asked softly.

"A group with worked metal," she said. "A big one. Could be bandits, but…"

Before they could debate the idea, the first arrow sailed in from half a mile away. Velik caught the slight whistle of it cutting through the air, then he pivoted and smacked it aside with his hand. "We're under attack," he yelled to wake the other half of the team up.