Marcus leaned back in his office chair, gazing out the window as he lifted a cup of wine from his desk. A merchant had given him the wine, and its rich flavor had won him over from the first taste.
Since becoming Deputy Sheriff, Dario had taken much of the work off Marcus's hands. His thorough, conscientious approach had made Marcus's life considerably easier.
The office door burst open with a bang, and a town guard hurried inside.
Marcus frowned and set down his wine. “What is it? Why the rush? Have the gnolls come down from the mountains?”
“No, Sheriff. Raymond and Henk are back!”
“What?” Marcus immediately sat upright. “Where are they?”
“Outside the town guard headquarters, waiting to be announced.”
“Quickly! Show them in!”
The soldier nodded and withdrew. Before long, Raymond and Henk entered the office. A thick layer of dust covered their faces, their bodies were filthy, and both looked exhausted.
Marcus was about to speak when he noticed someone else entering behind them. Assuming it was some careless soldier or his clerk, he was ready to reprimand the intruder. Then he realized it was a female half-orc.
She stood six feet tall, almost Raymond's height, and wore a thin fur garment. Tall and powerfully built, she had a very different appeal from the human women Marcus was accustomed to. As soon as she entered, she began looking around curiously, seemingly paying him no attention at all.
“Who is she?” Marcus asked.
“This is Mara, a companion we met in Brightwater,” Raymond explained. “Mara, this is Sheriff Marcus.”
Marcus straightened and looked at her, expecting some sign of respect or apprehension. Mara merely glanced at him. She neither spoke nor made any attempt to greet him.
Fortunately, Raymond reacted quickly. “Henk, take Mara back to the inn and get some rest. I'll report to the Sheriff alone.”
Henk nodded without objection and spoke quietly to Mara. She looked at Raymond as though about to say something, but ultimately remained silent and followed Henk out of the office.
Once they had gone, Marcus could no longer hold back his questions. “What took you so long? It's been nearly a month! I thought you'd run off with my money!”
Raymond shook his head with a rueful smile. “You've got the wrong idea. It's a long story.” He sighed.
“Something must have happened to delay you that long, I suppose?” Marcus considered him for a moment, then took a cup from beneath his desk and a wine jug from the shelf behind him. He poured a cup and handed it to Raymond.
Raymond drained it in one gulp, then sat on a cushioned stool nearby. Leaning back against a cushion with a grave expression, he seemed unsure where to begin.
Only then did Marcus remember that someone was missing. “What about that young man, Teddy? Didn't he come back with you? Did he stay in Brightwater?”
“Teddy?” Raymond sighed. “He betrayed me, Sheriff. He attacked me during a job.” He lifted his arming coat, revealing a pale new scar beneath his left ribs. Thin scabs still clung to parts of it.
“He betrayed you? During a job? What job?” Marcus was so bewildered that he did not know which question to ask first.
Reading on an aggregator? This story was pulled from NovelPhoenix and republished without permission.
Raymond spoke slowly. “After I delivered your letter to Edgar, Brightwater's City Watch Commander, he asked me to kill a fishfolk leader nearby. The bounty was generous, so we discussed it and agreed to take the job. During the operation, Teddy attacked me while I wasn't looking. Several other mercenaries with us joined him.”
Marcus's frown deepened as he listened. Once Raymond had finished, he said solemnly, “It wasn't me. My letter only introduced you and asked him to help you out.”
“I'm not accusing you, Sheriff.” Raymond sighed. “From what I've learned, the ore was the main reason for all this.”
“The ore? Have you found out what it is?”
“I can't be completely certain, but from what I know now, I believe it's Ebony ore. The raw material used to make Ebony gear.”
*Ebony ore?!*
Marcus trembled with excitement and rose before he could stop himself. Pacing around the office, he muttered repeatedly, “What a loss. What a loss. We've really lost out this time.”
After a while, he hurried back to Raymond. “How much did you sell it for?”
“Three gold coins and thirty-five silver for the ore. One gold and forty-five silver for the other goods. Four gold and eighty silver in total.” Raymond had already committed the figures to memory and answered without hesitation.
“Far too cheap. What a loss.” Marcus slapped his thigh in regret.
Raymond smiled and shook his head. “At the time, I didn't know what it was, Sheriff. I only learned afterward. From what I've found out, the T that Martin mentioned is Tessa, the woman I sold it to. She arranged for those bandits to trade with the gnolls, exchanging supplies and weapons for Ebony ore. What she wants the ore for, I don't know.”
“What else? To make Ebony gear, of course.” Marcus sighed. “You have no idea how precious those things are.”
“How much are they worth?” Raymond asked curiously.
Marcus faltered. He knew Ebony gear was valuable, but he had no idea what it would actually sell for. No family had fallen so far that it needed to sell such equipment for money. The pieces were exceedingly rare, their worth beyond any price.
Marcus smoothly passed over the question. “So there's a mine tunnel producing Ebony ore in the Blackstone Mountains? Or an entire mine?” he mused aloud.
“I don't know for sure,” Raymond replied. “But I'd assume so. Where else would the gnolls get the ore? I suspect that's the main reason those bandits were willing to risk making camp in Blackstone's territory: to keep the trade going.”
Marcus continued gravely, “Do you know who this Tessa is? How does she have the means to arrange deals in Ebony ore?”
“I know she runs Brightwater's entire black market. I suspect a high-ranking official is backing her,” Raymond said. “She also knows we're posing as the old bandit gang and continuing their trade with the gnolls. I think this may be more complicated than it seems. She's probably still trying to regain control of that route.”
Raymond chose not to mention Margaret. He could not be certain what effect she would have on Tessa and her people. Saying too much might give Marcus ideas of his own.
“We haven't decided what to do about that trade route either,” Marcus said.
“Oh? Why is that, Sheriff?”
“We didn't make the trade at the beginning of this month. The gnolls came for nothing.”
“You didn't go?” Raymond was surprised. “Did they react badly?”
“They waited for a while, then took the goods back with them.” Marcus shrugged. “Dario suggested laying an ambush when they came down from the mountains and wiping out the whole group.”
“But you refused, didn't you, Sheriff?”
“That's right.” Marcus set down his cup. “Why do you think I did that?”
“We know nothing about the gnoll tribes in the Blackstone Mountains. Attacking rashly would only anger them. If a large force came down to take revenge, it would be much harder to deal with.” Raymond spoke calmly. “Missing one trade may have annoyed them, but they aren't mindless beasts. If they want the trade to continue, they'll have to deal with us eventually. As for missing the last meeting, we can probably explain it away with some excuse.”
“Clever.” Marcus looked at him approvingly. “Much cleverer than the others. Suspending the trade may upset them, but we haven't become outright enemies yet. There's still room to put things right.”
“So you're planning to resume trading with them?” Raymond asked, picking up on what Marcus seemed to be suggesting.
“Trade with them? No, I don't think that's a good solution. Deciding what to do about those gnolls is no simple matter, especially now that something as important as Ebony ore is involved.” Marcus sighed, then changed the subject. “Speaking of which, what's the story with that female half-orc? You've been away so long. Did something else happen on the road?”
Raymond nodded. “She took part in the operation against the fishfolk leader with us. There were quite a few people involved, and she was the only one who didn't betray us. After we were attacked at Deepwater Lake, we fled to Elmbridge and rested for a few days. Once we'd recovered enough, we set out for Blackstone. We did run into a little trouble on the road, but it didn't delay us long.”
“Oh? So something did happen?” Marcus took an interest.
“Nothing much. At least we made it back safely, didn't we?”