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Immediately, the sense of peace leaves her and wariness takes its place. “Good morning,” she returns, her voice a little skeptical. I suppose I have never greeted her before. But that was then, this is now.
“The shops are probably open now that the morning bell has rung,” I offer conversationally. The words are a little stilted, even to my own ears. I suppose I am out of practice with being friendly after a month of being enemies.
“I thought as much,” she says, still looking on guard.
This is going well, I think ruefully. I finish my stretches and my eyes spy the other two meatpies from last night. I pick one up and proffer the other one to the orcress. No,Dura.Dura. I need to get in the habit of saying her name.
Dura gracefully takes to her feet and grabs the pie from me. After she starts eating, I take my own bite. They are still good even when cold and I remember the innkeeper’s brag that they werefamous throughout the kingdom. I smile a little at the memory. They are good enough to be, though I am sure that he was exaggerating.
“Why are you smiling?” Dura asks suspiciously.
“The pie,” I respond. “It’s good.”Excellent,you sound like an idiot.
But if she thinks my words are stupid, she doesn’t say anything. “It is,” she agrees and takes a huge bite.
Again, I am struck that she is unlike the dainty ladies I knew at court, with their pretty table manners. Are all orcresses like her? Straightforward and bold, utilitarian in their actions? I would have never thought that I would be drawn to one such as her, but she is magnetic. A lodestone. I feel helpless to resist her pull. It was the same even when she was my captor and I fought against her.
Finishing her pie, Dura looks at me and says, “We should head to the market. The mercantile should have what we need. Maybe the tailor as well.”
I nod and go to pull on my boots. Dura does the same. I stand and head to the door, hesitating before pulling back the bolt.
“Ready?”
She nods, then taps the pendant on her neck twice before disappearing.
“Ready,” comes her voice from the spot where she was standing.
I nod to where I think she is and then unbolt the door and open it, stepping out into the hallway.
???
Shopping is easy, but tedious. At the mercantile, I buy a sack of dried meat and a pack of spices, some furs, a hunting bow and arrows, a length of hempen rope, a hatchet, a pot, a knapsack, andanother bedroll. At the tailor’s the woman at the counter tries to talk me into custom clothes that will be ready in just a few days, but I don’t want to stay here long, especially after Dura’s theft yesterday, so I buy what little they have ready-made that will fit me. I eyeball the clothes to see what could fit Dura. I briefly consider some sturdy work dresses, but dismiss them almost immediately. She is a warrior. Dura doesn’t seem the type to wear dresses, and we will be living in the wilderness. She needs something more practical. I pick two tunics and some trousers, as well as some thick, soft-looking socks.
I am leaving the tailor’s shop when I hear an unwelcome and familiar voice.
“There he is! There he is! Arrest him, he robbed me!”
I bite out a quiet curse and turn to see the fine goods merchant dragging a town guard behind him, pointing directly at me.
“What’s this?” I ask, trying to sound affronted.
The other man stops in front of me and sneers. “I’ve been robbed and I know it was you! Open your pockets at once, you thief, and I’ll ask for leniency! This is your only warning!”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask for you to turn out your pockets, sir,” says the guard, sounding apologetic but firm.
I still have some of the man’s coins in my pockets, though considerably less than what I started with. Has he marked his coins so that he’ll know that they are his, or can I get away with a lie? While I hesitate, I feel an invisible hand reach into my pocket, grab the coins and slip out.
Holding back a grin, I put all my purchases in one hand and use the other to turn out my now-empty pockets.
The merchant gapes, his color going a reddish purple. “Well, he’s obviously spent it all! Look at his hands, they are full of purchases! Just yesterday, he said that he’d been robbed of all his worldly goods, so how is he buying things?”
“I sold my wife’s earrings,” I lie, looking at the town guard, who is looking unconvinced by the merchants’ rambling. “Yesterday, I went to sell the earrings to this man, who wanted to cheat me out of their true price, so I left and found a traveling merchant who was willing to give me a much better deal, though still not the true price of the earrings. I sold to him instead, which is where I got just enough money to get some things for me and my wife.”
“The nerve!” the merchant gasps. “I have cheated no one in my life. If you found someone who gave you more money for those forgeries, then they are a fool.”
“Where is this merchant, so that we might corroborate the tale?” the town guard asks.
Fuck, I didn’t think that far with my story. I think quickly, quicker than I probably ever have before. If I just need to get out of town, then I can run and lose the guard in the Deep Wood. “He said he was leaving this morning, heading to Orik. We can try to catch him.”
