Sellswords Read online

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  Dawn broke far too soon as far as I was concerned, but there was no sound of rain, so that was something. As soon as my memory came back to what happened yesterday, I checked the Fey and found that she was sleeping soundly her body warm. Her dry hair looked to be a tangled mess, but I had guessed right; dry it was a golden blonde in colour.

  As I slowly disentangled myself from both her and the blankets I slowly got up into the cold room and got dressed in some dry work clothing. Despite my best efforts at being quiet, Miri had awoken as soon as I had started to stir.

  “Sleep well?” I whispered to my partner.

  “Surprisingly well, given where we are,” she replied. Daywalkers actually do need to sleep, just not as long as other mortals. Miri then got up and twisted her back hard enough that several bone breaking cracks filled the room. With a satisfied sigh, she also proceeded to sort through her things to find some new clothing.

  I’ve often thought that the sound of Miri cracking her back could wake the dead, and I had some proof of this fact when the Fey moaned and twisted around see where the sound came from.

  “Hello?” she said hesitancy as she sat up and look upon Miri and myself.

  “Good morning, you’re looking a lot better. I’m Sasha this is Miri and the poor excuse for a feather duster is Riley,” I said as cheerfully as possible.

  “Sariel, nice to meet you, and thanks for saving my life yessssterday?” replied the Fey not sure of how long she’d been incoherent. She stretched and only then did she realize that she was still completely naked under the bedding and covered herself.

  “I know were not your size, but I’m sure we can cobble something together that would work,” I said to Sariel reassuringly.

  “No need,” she replied as she made a cutting jester with her left hand. Magic energies were shifting through the room like a small vortex, as her hand seemed to disappear into thin air only to come back a second later with a large sack. It was then that I noticed that her arm tattoo not only had ink but several embedded gems worked into it, and they all glowed brightly as arcane energy coursed through them.

  Riley let out a long whistle, which given that he didn’t have lips has always been a bit disconcerting to me, and said “Embedded magic; well that’s something new. Sasha, I think we have our next research project.”

  “Later Riley we still have work to do here,” I said, though I had to agree I really wanted to know what other tricks Sariel had.

  “Work?” asked the Fey as she pulled a complete change of clothing including a large warm looking cloak from the sack.

  “Yes we need to put things right in this village; it’s the least we can do to help, given that we were able to take advantage of this place last night to keep both you and us alive,” I replied.

  By the time I was able to throw on my own clothing and pull my hair back Sariel was dressed as well. Though she appeared fine, and the healing potion had left her skin clear; the effort of getting dressed appeared to tire her. A reminder of just how close she’d come yesterday to death.

  Once we were all dressed, I opened the door on what at least was starting to be a nice day. The clouds were breaking up providing a lovely orange dawn. Around us the village was getting up and men and women of all ages were getting started their morning chores. I saw the young girl Sarah walk by carrying her now dried rabbit tightly in her arms. She saw me and gave me a big smile and waved hello. In the middle of all this daily chaos stood Benedict in the exact same spot that he had been when we first saw him last night.

  “Good morning! Your companion seemed much improved from last night,” he said his face in a big grin.

  “Yes, she is, my thanks for your help,” I started.

  “She still looks a bit pale; perhaps you three should stay for the day? I could have breakfast brought to you,” he said as a note of desperation crept into his voice.

  Oh, how I so wanted to somewhere else, I hesitated for a second an excuse already forming onto my lips, but then I felt Riley’s claws dig a bit into my shoulder.

  “You know what has to be done,” he said quietly into my ear.

  “Many thanks Benedict and we might stay but it’s time for you to go,” I started, “It okay you can move on, my friends and I will give everyone a decent burial and we will remember you and your village and how you helped keep us alive,”

  The Priest expression became a mixture of confusion warring with pain, but he remained silent.

  “You’re dead Benedict, you and your village have been dead for close to twenty years. The Blood Plague took you all and it was so quick your soul couldn’t believe it; you didn’t want to believe and finally you chose a different path.

  “No, no: No! They were my friends my family I help bring many of them into this world, I married them, blessed their children, but when they needed me most…”

  Around us the village started to change, first the people started to disappear, then the animals and finally the carefully maintained huts started to collapse.

  “There was nothing you could have done, no cleric, no druid, no wizard no king could cure the plague everyone was helpless before it. Their deaths weren’t your fault,” I half lied. This had been a good man; he didn’t need to hear the full truth of who was responsible.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Really, Benedict. As I said go in peace we’ll make sure that everyone is taken care of,” I said to him again.

  Benedict sighed as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. “Make sure you bury Sarah with her rabbit, she’d be lost without it,” he said with a final large smile. Then the ghost of the holy man disappeared like the morning mist.

  The child and that damn rabbit. That must have been a proud moment for him; the village gathering as one to save the life of their smallest. No wonder as a ghost he had relived the event again and again. He must have been a powerful presence in the village. Certainly, his spirit was strong enough to recreate it and the surrounding land to near perfection. The fires giving off heat only when you paid attention to them; was the only mistake. Well that and his own fixation about it being spring.

  Such hauntings are not uncommon these days, and while this one had been benevolent, not all are. That’s why it’s best not to eat anything, accepting too much of a ghost’s hospitality can bind you into the illusion and you can end up as trapped as the ghosts.

  Just another hazard of the road in these strange and chaotic times. But we were safe for now. Benedict’s ghost had, in his unwillingness to let go of life, managed to save the life of another. Reaching into my pouch I pulled out a small Dwarven crafted shovel and tossed it to Miri.

  “Miri, you start digging the grave, Sariel and I will get the bodies that Riley spots,” I said to everyone.

  Time to repay the debt.

  Fairy Godsister

  Table of contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight