[coronatiger]

With Ilzo having to navigate the heavy sled between the trees, it only took Va’lyndra and Leopold one and a half hour to catch up. In fact, it went so slowly that because of our late start, it was dark when the lights of the village came into view.

The villagers armed when they saw us approaching, but their brave leader, a dwarf who introduced himself as Urf Beardson, came out to meet us. There was much rejoicing when the villagers saw who we brought home. Leopold informed Urf that we had dealt with the bandits and brought their friends and the stolen goods. I looked to see if I could see anyone reacting suspiciously to the news, but Va’lyndra made such a fuss about a non-human being in charge, that it was hard to pay attention elsewhere.

Urf instructed someone to clear out a house for us, so we could stay the night. I asked him if he knew who the bandit spy was, and said we were happy to help dealing with them, but Urf called over four sturdy lads and went to take care of the bandit.

A woman showed us to the house we had been assigned. Leopold said we would keep the captured bandits with us, even though it might be crowded inside. He and Walter would watch the bandits, who could sleep on the floor of the living room. I suggested that Olivia and I took the bedroom. Leopold replied that Ilzo and Va’lyndra could have objections to that.

A teenage boy came with tea and biscuits and promised a celebratory meal in the morning. He also let us know that Ferdinand, the bandit, had escaped. “Ilzo! We’re going tracking!” I shouted. “On second thoughts,” I added to Leopold, “would it be better if Va’lyndra and Ilzo went? She sees better at night than I do.” Leopold informed me that Va’lyndra needed sleep; she had slept poorly for several nights, and not at all last night. The boy looked at me with disbelief. Were we really going out into the forest in the middle of the night? “Yes, of course. We’re adventurers!” I said, as if that explained everything.

Ilzo and I brought with us some biscuits and Ilzo began looking for tracks. The boy had pointed out which direction Ferdinand had gone. We wandered around for a while before Ilzo found a broken twig and started following the tracks. It didn’t go very fast, so I walked on my hands for practice. After following the tracks for an hour or so, Ilzo declared that these weren’t the right tracks after all. We went back and found another set of tracks to follow. These led to a well-traveled road. Ilzo searched the other side of the road to see if Ferdinand had crossed, but concluded that the bandit had decided to follow the road. With all the other traffic, it would be impossible to discern which direction Ferdinand had gone, so we decided to turn back. Morning wasn’t far off anyway, and we were getting hungry and tired. It was light long before we reached the village. “Breakfast time!” Ilzo declared when he spotted the village.

Leopold and Urf had already sent off people to notify the other villages. Leopold had told our story to everyone with half a mind to listen, but he said that the villagers had interesting stories, too. I suggested I put on a show after getting some food inside me, but Leopold said the feast in our honor had been postponed until evening. Ilzo and I could go to bed, and I could have my show when people weren’t at work. That sounded good to me.


Thoughts on October 15th

Olivia woke me before it was time for our victory feast. I performed for the entire village, as I had promised, and everyone had a good time. Afterwards, I took Olivia back to our house so we’d get some privacy before the others would go to bed.


Thoughts on October 16th

We got moving towards Urdon. On the road, Ilzo wasn’t the slowest one like he’d been in the forest. It was the bandits who delayed us now. They were all badly injured. Olivia had looked them over and determined they wouldn’t die, not until we reached the gallows in Urdon, anyway. We found another village when it was time to put up for the night. This wasn’t one of the six that the bandits had ruled over, but they were still law-obliged to take us in for the night. Since we could afford to pay them for their services, we did.


Thoughts on October 17th

Moving on, we sang. I don’t recall who started it, but everyone joined in except the bandits. “One thousand pieces of gold on a wall, one thousand pieces of gold …” The number of gold pieces on the wall dropped by one for each verse until Ilzo and Leopold made up a verse about killing trolls and collecting the bounty, bringing us back to one thousand pieces of gold on the wall. The bandits groaned. We found another village in the evening and hired rooms.


Thoughts on October 18th

Getting back to Urdon took much longer than going out, but we were close, even when we set out in the morning. In the afternoon, we stopped for a minute. Leopold didn’t want to go straight into town, for we didn’t know the situation there. Someone was in the business of kidnapping important government councilors, and we knew that people had arrived here to look around discreetly for the missing Seral. Leopold asked if we should head for the knowledge guild compound instead. Va’lyndra didn’t want our captives to know where that was, but Leopold told her we could just blindfold them. So we did.

The guards recognized Va’lyndra, of course, and probably me too, but Va’lyndra was the guild member among us. My membership was merely honorary. Va’lyndra got rooms for us and cells for the bandits. I suggested that Olivia and I could go into town and speak with Gnomus about the quest we had completed, but Leopold said it was better if he or Va’lyndra went, in case people were looking for us. I was famous around these parts, and Ilzo wasn’t unknown either. I was fine with not putting on a show in Urdon tonight. I had performed at three villages in as many days, and while I would perform again if given the chance, Olivia and I had a room all to ourselves and I wasn’t about to let that opportunity slip away.

“Um… Mattea?” Olivia asked while we were unpacking our stuff. Well, she was unpacking. I was looking for the Sulla statuette so the god of love could watch us in action. “What?” “These books… um… just… why?” “I didn’t go out and buy them, if that’s what you’re thinking. Leopold found them in the bandit stash and thought I’d like them, but I have to admit, after I put them away, I forgot all about them. I have no desire to learn another weapon, and I’m stealthier than any of the others, so they’re not much use.” Olivia looked stunned. “Stealth… Weapons… These aren’t instruction books, Mattea. They’re erotic novellas!” My jaw dropped.

It didn’t take much convincing to get Olivia to read to me. We had a great time with “The Maiden’s Sword”. It got me really turned on, and only the desire to hear how the story concluded prevented me from jumping Olivia. Suddenly, she thought she heard something and waddled over to the window and peeked out between the curtains. “Va’lyndra and Leopold just came in,” she said over her shoulder. “They’re looking for Ilzo.” “Then we’d better get down to business. You can finish the story later.”