FreeHolds Adventure, Cycle 3 Part 7d
Despite Tipper’s intentions she had slept through the dawn and well into the morning. By the time she had woken, Adwin and his companions were still not ready to leave, but neither was she. Nor were the folks of Lekas willing to see them go so quickly. Del was able to convince her to hold off departing for another day or two.
Adwin took the rest of the morning to make sure that the wagon was packed properly and that everyone else who intended to depart with them would be ready to do so within a couple of days. Chance Delight asked to join them and was not dissuaded when Adwin told them that a considerable amount of work waited for them all in Kaymere. The folks from Predost and a few from Aramy wished to travel with them as well, they would be returning to their homes.
He also had some unfinished company business that had to be dealt with. Sitting down with Whyse and Hidge, he tried to convince both of them to return to GreensBridge. They were united against that idea. Hidge was willing to return, provided she had a letter from Adwin detailing the events of the past month or so and that Whyse stayed on to keep an eye on things. Whyse was of a similar mind.
As people gathered for the impromptu moot, Adwin sat in the back of the wagon composing a letter to Master Merchant Roburns. It took longer than he thought it would and he was not sure anything he said would mitigate Tipper’s actions. He did make a few suggestions on how the Eastern Line might be saved, including working with Wikkersak Coach and Courier. He also committed himself to securing support for the project in locales east of what had been Sharlok’s Hold.
He passed the letter to Hidge, “I appreciate the fact that you did not kill my friend.”
“Nothing says I won’t be back in a few months to do so.”
“I realize that. I’m hoping that if I can get agreements from a few of the communities out this way, to accommodate the company’s requirements, that retribution will not be necessary.”
Hidge shrugged, “Just don’t get yourself killed. Princess is tougher than I thought, but she doesn’t have nearly the experience that I do. No doubt she’ll also be pliable to your whims.”
Adwin frowned at her then asked, “Why do you call her princess?”
Hidge gave a snort of a laugh, “Not my place to say. Best ask her if you really want to know.”
“Alright. Travel safe. Hopefully things will go well here.”
“These are resilient people. I’m sure they’ll figure things out. Hopefully you are able to convince them to accept the company’s ambitions, they could use more traffic and trade through the area. I’ll be heading out shortly.”
Adwin went to see what was going on with the moot. Half the afternoon had passed while he had been working on company business, in that time Lekas had decided they would form a council. Not just for Lekas, but for the wider region. Lef, Alfi, Del and Teller would represent Lekas and they were deciding who else would serve on the council from the various dispersed communities.
There really was not much for him to do regarding the moot, so he returned to the wagon and drew up a contract to present to the Lekas Council, regarding hosting a Roburns Coach and Courier station in the village. He hoped to get to talk to them about it, but was unsure if the circumstances would allow that to happen before he departed. So, he took the time to write up an additional letter that laid out the benefits such a station would bring the community.
It was nearly sunset by the time he finished. The moot seemed to be over and while many folks were dispersing from the commons, there also seemed to be a fair number of people inclined to celebrate their recent victory and the formation of the council. Adwin decided to stay close to the camp, partially because he did not want to lose anything else to thieves but also because he was not feeling overly festive.
Whyse arrived with some food, “Calathy asked me to bring you this. Oh, Hidge left earlier this afternoon.”
Adwin nodded, “Thanks.” He took the bowl, it contained a large hunk of horse meat and a few spring greens. He wondered how the locals would manage for food. He assumed there would be additional hunting this year, to make up for any shortages.
Luk and a number of the raiding crew showed up a while later. Having acquired a couple jugs of cider, they came to share with him and to say their goodbyes. He was happy for the chance, he stayed up late talking and sharing stories with them. Many intended to leave over the next few days as well, most had families and homesteads to return to.
Adwin was surprised when the party on the green wound down earlier than he had expected. People were tired and there was a decided lack of beverages that may have fuelled a longer celebration. “Not enough liquid assets.” Adwin told himself, smiling.
His companions returned to the camp and everyone settled down pretty quickly. Tipper joined him on the wagon bench, “Seems likely we’ll be here another day, I gather.”
Adwin yawned, “I’ve some business I’d like to present to the council before we leave and there’s a few people I’ve not had a chance to say goodbye to. So yeah, if you can allow another day’s delay, that’d be great.”
“One more day. But I want to be heading out with the dawn the following morning. Rain or shine.”
“Kaymere awaits.”
She gave a grim smile, “It does. I just hope I can find what I’m looking for.”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard yet, but most of the treasures we took from the Fingures have been stolen. I still have the short sword though. Mokha says it’s magical, enchanted in some way, but he’s unable to tell me how.”
“Sorry to hear you lost your loot. There’s plenty of treasures in Kaymere though, maybe not as impressive as what you had, but even the tools there are valuable. As to the sword, I’ve family back home that should be able to figure out what enchantments have been put on the blade.”
“Dresmend is dead. Murdered the day after I killed the mind-witch.”
“Ah, well, that’s a shame.” She was silent a couple moments, “I’m glad you killed that woman. Selfish cunt. Did his oldest take over the business?”
“No, she died as well, last autumn.”
Tipper gave a heavy sigh before replying, she sounded sad. “I was rather fond of her.”
“Her sister and Dresmend’s brother, the drunk guy, took over the business. The brother is less drunk these days. Some of the family chose to resettle in Hadden’s Fort.”
“I think I’ll turn in.”
“Hidge left this afternoon.”
“That’s good. Sleep well Adwin.”
“You too.” He stayed up a while longer, watching the sky above and looked for the long star. It was still there, he wondered what made it that way. Maybe Mokha or Tipper knew. He crawled into his bedding, next to Calathy who was sound asleep and snoring quietly. He slept.
The following morning saw more people leaving Lekas. No one left empty handed, there were too many horses for the village and plenty of weapons, armour, scrap metal and clothing in various states, stripped from Sharlok’s army.
The council had also decided to free the captives, who would be escorted a yateer or so west of the village. They had been stripped of their valuables and gear, including their boots and would be given a minimal amount of supplies. If they were lucky there would still be a road crew in that direction. Regardless, they should still be able to make it home. Lekas, certainly did not have the resources to keep them around and most folks had not wanted them killed.
Adwin was able to meet with the council, though given how busy they were, he did not take up much of their time and was rather surprised when they voted to accept the offer.
Teller had been very interested and had taken on the project. Adwin was able to talk with her a while longer, answering her many questions as best as he could. He was happy about her enthusiasm and support. Tentative contracts were drawn up. “If I’d known yesterday you would be so interested, I’d have asked Hidge to wait the extra day. As it is, if you have someone who can take this to GreensBridge, sooner rather than later, you may get someone here from the company before next spring.”
“Oh, I’d already been thinking about taking a trip to GreensBridge. Now I will definitely be going. I think this is what Lekas needs, we’ve been very isolated for generations now. I’d hate to see us end up in the same situation as Predost.”
Adwin made sure she had a good list of contacts, including Addath at SkadWind and Councillor Bane. “I hope things go well for you, in GreensBridge and here.”
He was surprised when she gave him a hug, “Thank you Adwin, you and your friends will always be welcomed here.”
He laughed, “Well, I hope so. I’ll have business interests here, if all goes according to plan.”
He spent a while looking for Gweth, she had been one of his best fighters and despite her laconic disposition he had wanted to say goodbye. Unfortunately he did not find her and it seemed likely that she had already left Lekas.
When he returned to the camp, most of his companions were ready to go. Lef and Alfi were there and Adwin wondered about the two of them. Since the battle they had been in each other’s company a lot. To be fair, they had both lost someone dear to them. Certainly Lef seemed in better spirits than when they had arrived and Alfi seemed more relaxed and outgoing.
There was food and music, Sefla danced and many people came by that afternoon to wish them well on their travels. Tipper pointedly ignored Adwin for the rest of the day, he assumed she had heard about his efforts to extend the company’s Eastern Line. Well, no doubt that would be a conversation for another time. Rather than worry about that, he enjoyed the music and the companionship, he was rather surprised by the number of people who made a point of speaking to him and expressing their gratitude.
Not long after sunset most folks retired to their beds. When Tipper returned from singing the days end with the folks from Predost, she loudly suggested, “Get some rest. We’re leaving right after sunrise and I would like to be in Kaymere within the eight-day”
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