The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 (18 page)

She chuckled and the bed jiggled as she
climbed out of it. I heard the sound of iron clanging together and
groaned as I picked myself up off the mattress.

“
I’m shocked Natalie
hasn’t tried to wake us up yet,” Cathy said.

“
Might still be too
early for her,” I responded, standing up.

I grabbed the armour off the floor and
started to assemble it. The process was almost automatic now and
the thought of selling the armour to the blacksmith was crossing my
mind.

“
You ready to see the
blacksmith again?” Cathy asked in good cheer.

I groaned.

I had met Stitches back when I had
first come through Riverside with Aaron two cycles ago. I knew him
as Burt back then and I stopped him from ripping Aaron off with his
shoddy merchandise. Burt swore to never serve me again and I’ve
avoided him in my travels just to makes things easier. The visit
was going to be interesting.

“
Well at least it
will be fun for me,” Cathy responded.

Cathy left the room as I finished with
the armour. I heard her knock on Natalie’s door and I left the
room. Natalie exited the room dressed and we didn’t waste any time
heading for the blacksmith.

When we opened the door, we were
greeted by a large blast of heat hitting us in the face. The set up
was exactly the same as I remembered it. Along the walls, leather
and iron armour hung on display and I thought my eyes were playing
tricks on me because they actually looked decent. Maybe I had seen
so many bad pieces that Burt’s were starting to look
professional.

I shuddered at the thought.

At the counter,
looking shorter, pudgier and refreshingly cleaner than I remembered
was Burt. A taller, young man worked the forge behind him and
didn’t look in our direction as we approached. The sword he was
working on looked good and I started to suspect that it was his
work I was seeing on the walls.

“
What’s all this
about then?” Burt asked. “Nat? Why are you travelling with
Thurlborn guards and why in the blackest coals of the Void would
you bring them to my shop?”

“
Relax, old man,
you’re going to have another heart attack,” Natalie replied. “These
are just friends of mine. Jokes sent us to you because you are the
one with the information...apparently.’

“
I’m thinking Jokes
is just playing you,” Burt said dismissively. “I just smith iron
for him. I don’t play the information game.”

“
More like your son
smiths iron for him,” Natalie said, pointing to the young man.
“When did you give it up?”

“
He turned 16 and had
been bugging me to put him to work,” Burt answered. “He’s a natural
at the forge. Taught him everything I knew and he still wants to
learn more.”

“
Imagine that,” Cathy
muttered sarcastically, covering her mouth by scratching her
cheek.

I bit my lip so I wouldn’t laugh.

“
So you have a lot of
free time on your hands to make deals and observations,” Natalie
implied.

“
Yes, but I’m not
dealing with you no matter what Jokes says,” Burt responded. “Your
reputation isn’t in your favour nor is the company you keep.” He
turned to look at me. “You can’t hide behind the armour, Mage. I
should gut you right here for your crimes against the people. The
world is better off without magic.”

I stared him down,
but kept quiet.

“
Focus, Stitches,”
Natalie demanded.

“
I said to never call
me that,” Burt snarled.

“
Insult me or my
friends again and it will be the least of your worries,” Natalie
threatened. “All we came here for is to ask about a couple a
knights that may have passed through Riverside.”

Burt tried to look
tough, but failed. In his heart, he was a cowardly weasel who could
never stand face to face with anyone that had a backbone. If he
thought he could match up against Natalie, he was wrong. Judging by
the look on his face, he knew this too. “We are a popular stop for
knights heading up towards Davalin,” he said. “Do you have a
name?”

Natalie turned to me and I cleared my
throat. “Ser Scott and Squire Paul,” I said.

Burt smiled a
disturbing looking smile. “So not just a knight, but a squire that
happens to be a member of the royal family? A family that is
supposed to have no remaining heirs to the throne.”

Natalie sighed. “What is your
price?”

“
More than you could
ever hope to pay,” Burt answered. “I know that the Yellow Jackets
are interested in the same information, as well as information on
you. You see, you are not only paying for the information but for
my silence as well.”

“
Damn you, Stitches,”
Natalie growled. “This is important business that will change the
economics of Balendar. You would stand in the way for
greed?”

“
Oh, Natalie,” Burt
smiled. “Are you doing this for charity or is there a fat pay check
with your name on it?”

Natalie remained silent.

“
My point exactly,”
Burt said. “I have a family to protect and until a king sits on the
throne, we are in danger from the Yellow Jackets. I am just looking
for enough to close down the store and go on a vacation for a
little while.”

“
What’s the price?”
Cathy asked.

“
One thousand,” Burt
asked.

“
We don’t have that
on us,” Natalie said.

“
Then I don’t have
information for you,” Burt responded.

“
You don’t give us
that information and the only threat your family will face is me,”
Natalie said, drawing her blade.

Burt’s son rushed forward with a short
sword and Burt stopped him. “Settle, settle,” he said, turning to
Natalie. “I can’t budge on this. You pay the price or you get
out.”

“
Then how about
this,” I said, removing the gauntlets of my armour. “I’ll trade you
my armour for the information. This is official Thurlborn guard
armour. In the right networks, you could sell it for a good price
to any thief or spy looking to get into the White
Castle.”

“
A suit like that
would easily send you on vacation when you sell it,” Natalie said,
jumping in on the idea.

“
Yeah, when I sell
it,” Burt said, dismissing his son. “Not an easy feat.”

“
You and I both know
Dexter is looking for a suit and is willing to pay handsomely for
it,” Natalie said. “Come on, Burt. This is easy gold for
you.”

“
Alright, alright,”
he said. “Throw in both suits and you have a deal.”

“
Both?” Cathy asked
shocked.

“
Asking price was a
thousand each,” Burt explained. “Throw in the weapons and I’ll give
you a replacement suit and sword, my Lady.”

He smirked at Cathy and she smiled
politely. “A decent suit, Stitches. Don’t think I can’t tell the
difference.”

“
I wouldn’t dream of
ripping off the Lady of Davalin,” he said sweetly. “Didn’t think I
recognised you, did you?”

“
If you were any
good, you would have done it sooner,” Cathy responded in the same
sweet tone.

Burt chuckled and began examining the
armour. “What’s with the dents?”

“
It’s been broken
in,” Cathy answered. “Looks more authentic.”

Burt chuckled and motioned for his son.
“Bring her your best suit of iron.” His son ran to the storage area
as Burt turned to me. “You want anything, Mage?”

“
A short sword,” I
answered.

“
Fifty gold coins,”
he responded with a creepy smirk. “You know, because we’re
friends.”

“
Pass,” I said,
finishing with the armour.

“
This better be worth
it,” Cathy said, grabbing at the bulky looking iron armour Burt’s
son brought out.

“
Your knights were
heading up to Silvermist Marsh, south-east of Davalin,” Burt
said.

Natalie shook her head. “Right through
Rattlers’ territory.”

Burt nodded. “They were looking for
Diamondback Joe himself.”

“
Well this just got
more complicated,” Natalie said to me.

“
Don’t worry,” Burt
said. “Old Joe would recognise the little prince. So there is a
guarantee that he would only be taken captive in hope of
ransom.”

“
Yay for small
victories,” Natalie said sarcastically, turning to Cathy and me.
“Are you sure you want him? It would be easier to just let Michaels
win.”

“
Following that
logic, it would be easier to let Desroche take over Kalenden,”
Cathy said. “Michaels is too focused on himself to see the threat
of Ghanlar before it’s too late. If this kid is our best chance,
then we go find him. Everything depends on us.” Cathy turned to me.
“Did I just say that?”

I nodded.

“
Very well, my Lady,”
Natalie said. “Hope you’re ready for this.”

Chapter
16

We had the
destination but we didn’t have the time. Natalie moved with a
purpose and I was glad I was light enough to keep up. I didn’t
think I would see her so fired up about this mission. It could be
the payment from Lord Cook that motivated her, but something told
me not to judge too quickly. When I asked her, she just laughed and
assured me it was the money. Even Cathy didn’t look too
convinced.

Our journey through
the countryside was short as the grasslands gave way to a forest.
We had entered the part of Balendar where people rarely venture.
According to Natalie, it was the shortest distance between Davalin
and Riverside, but travellers would always take the long way
through the farm lands. Aside from the harsh conditions in the
marsh, its secluded nature made it a perfect place for thieves and
highwaymen to gather. Only heavily armed caravans and troops walked
through the Silvermist Marsh.

When the forest
finally gave way to the Marsh, Natalie slowed down. I was
disappointed that the mist wasn’t silver when we entered, but
Natalie assured me that it is quite silver in the moonlight. With
the sun sinking lower into the sky, I would get to see if she was
accurate soon.

“
Stay close and watch
where you step,” Natalie warned, after I had already stepped into a
puddle of mud.

Cathy shifted her armour around again.
“Damn clunky thing.”

“
At least we stopped
to pick up boots for me before heading out,” I said, shaking the
excess mud off.

“
Stop complaining,”
Natalie said, stopping the group. “You’re giving away our
position.”

“
I would sense them
before they could attack,” I assured her.

“
Either way, I’d like
to have the element of surprise if we need to attack anyone,”
Natalie said.

“
Fair enough,” I
said.

“
As far as I can
remember,” Cathy started, dipping into Lady Middleton’s memories,
“this is just a straight road through the Marsh. Where could a
bandit camp be hiding?”

“
The mist will play
tricks on you,” Natalie answered. “This whole area is a network of
beaten paths and hiding spots.”

“
Chances are the
knights won’t know that,” Cathy said. “We should stick to the main
road until we’ve confirmed that they have left it.”

Natalie shook her head. “I’m not much
of a tracker though. It’s going to be hard to pick up trails out
here. We’re better off searching the clearings for camps and seeing
if they are within one.”

“
We’d survive longer
if we aren’t charging each clearing,” I said. “Lady Middleton is a
trained scout, you know the area and I can scan for life. Well,
sort of. There’s a lot of insect life in here that will screw me
up. We’ll find tracks and take it slow from there.”

Natalie looked at Cathy. “You’re a
scout and I had to take the lead?”

“
I didn’t want ‘the
expert’ to feel like her skills were going to waste,” Cathy
responded.

“
Void, I could have
pointed you in the right direction and gone home,” Natalie said.
“Screw skills.”

“
You have to admit it
is more fun to come with us,” Cathy said.

Natalie nodded and looked around. “I
did get to see this slice of paradise.”

“
Alright, I think
we’ve proven that if someone was going to ambush us they would have
by now,” I said. “Let’s start moving again.”

“
Ladies of the Court
first,” Natalie said, motioning for Cathy to take the
lead.

“
Great,” Cathy
replied, heading forward.

Natalie and I
followed behind her slowly while she scanned the road ahead of us.
I scanned the area with my mind and confirmed my suspicions about
the insect life. The buzz of all their minds was too distracting to
scan any further than a few feet around us. It would still be
useful in denser areas, but for now, I stopped.

“
We’ve spent a few
days together but we’ve rarely had the chance to talk one on one,”
Natalie said quietly to me.

“
Yeah, I know,” I
responded in the same volume. “I thought you were avoiding me so we
wouldn’t talk about Aaron.”

Natalie turned to
look at me. “I hadn’t thought about that. It was more because you
are all buddy- buddy with Lady Middleton. You have some expensive
taste, Demon.”