'Please miss. A stall in the stables, a bit of floor in the kitchens, we'll take whatever you can offer.' The woman looked disgusted, but Benjin pleaded with his eyes.
'Two coppers and you can sleep in the loft with the rest of the fools,' she said, and Benjin quickly pulled four coppers from his pouch.
'Might we get a bit of food to go with our lodging?'
'You're a pushy one,' she said, but she accepted the coin. 'Potato broth is all we have left, but this'll get you two bowls.'
A thick layer of grease was congealed on top of the broth, and it tasted little better than laundry water, but it was warm and it felt good in Catrin's belly. They drained their bowls in short order, and the innkeeper had the stable boy show them to the loft. At the top of the ladder, they found mounds of flea-ridden straw, and there was barely a spot to be found that did not harbor a sleeping body. People cursed them as they wandered through the disorganized mass of humanity, but they eventually found a corner in which to lie down. Catrin pulled the blankets from her pack and prepared the best bed she could for them, and they laid themselves down to rest.
'You get some sleep,' Benjin said. 'I don't trust these folk not to rob us. I'll keep watch for now. I'll wake you later.'
She would have argued, but his words were muffled by her wide yawn, and she let sleep claim her. When she woke, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the walls, and Benjin slept beside her, his belt knife still in his hand. When he woke, she saw that his purse and other valuables were beneath him. He was an intimidating figure, knife in hand, and she supposed that had been enough to keep any would-be thieves at bay.
The sun already high in the sky, they left the inn long after most of the others who had shared the loft with them. A small town lay ahead, and in many ways, it looked the same as every other town they had already passed. It made Catrin feel as if they had been walking in circles.
'We're nearing the western border of Astor,' Benjin said as they entered the dirty little hamlet. 'Soon we'll be in Mundleboro, the lands ruled by your mother's family. We'll have to be extra careful when we get there. Keep your hood up at all times. I've been searching for signs of the Vestrana, but the signals I've seen are conflicting. They are close to correct but include subtle warnings. I'm afraid to seek their aid since it seems they fear they've been infiltrated.'
Walking past the smithy and shops, Benjin stopped at a storefront that displayed cured meats. Salted hams, smoked fish, and several strange reddish sausages hung under the watchful eye of the storekeeper.
'What'll you be needing?' the beady-eyed man asked, and it was clear he did not trust them. His look urged them to buy something or move on.
'How much for the pepper sausage?' Benjin asked.
'A silver.'
'Why, that's robbery. Surely you cannot expect to get such a price?'
'Already have and will again. Take it or leave it,' the man said, and he cleared the sword at his waist from its scabbard, daring them to steal it. They did not intend to stoop so low, but that price would consume most of the coin they had, and they still had a long journey ahead of them.
'Come on, li'l miss. Let us find a more pleasant thief to steal our coin,' Benjin said.
The storekeeper spit at them as they left. The argument drew unwanted attention, and several people among the crowd stared at them as they turned away, as if they hoped for a fight to break out, if only to break the monotony.
At that moment, a chance wind gusted through the streets, and the hood was pulled from Catrin's face. As she rushed to pull it back up, she saw a woman who was as wide as she was tall, and she was walking toward them.
'Lady Lissa! What in all the gods' lands are you doing here? You were to be at Ravenhold weeks ago. And what have you done with your hair?' she asked as she approached, and Catrin looked about to see who she addressed, but then the woman stopped abruptly and her eyes went wide. She leaped across the short distance that separated them and grabbed Catrin by the arm.
'If you make a move,' she said in a low voice, 'I'll shout for the guards and label you thieves. Come with me quietly, and no one gets hurt. Understand?' Only then did Catrin feel the pressure of a cold blade against her back. Benjin stood, frozen, seemingly afraid the woman would run Catrin through. Without a word, they let the strange woman lead them into a nearby inn.
The common room was crowded, but no one paid them any mind except to curse them for pushing through the throng. The knife at her back urged her up the stairs, and they stopped before a sturdy wooden door at the end of the hall. This door was the only one to bear a lock, and the woman produced a key from the folds of her shawl. Within a moment they were inside, the door locked securely behind them.
'Don't think to lie to me. I'd know you even if you were burned from head to toe. You're Mangst as sure as Vestra shines,' she said.
Benjin let out a heavy sigh. 'Who are you?' he asked, and the woman wheeled on him with her knife.
'The questions are mine to ask. Never you mind who I am. The question is who are you, and what are you doing here?'
'That's a long story and not one easily explained,' Benjin began, but the woman cut him short, literally; she sliced the air before him as if to demonstrate her skill with the knife.
'Shut your mouth. I'm not asking you. I ask her. What is your business here?'
'We're bound for Adderhold,' Catrin said, unsure of what else to say. She decided a small bit of truth was all she was willing to give. She didn't even know who this woman was or what evil deed she suspected them of committing, but her patience was already worn thin.
'Lies,' the woman said, and she punctuated her statement by tapping her slender blade on Catrin's chest. It was a move meant to threaten and cow her, but Catrin had had enough. She and Benjin had done nothing to deserve such treatment. With a quickness she didn't realize she possessed, she clasped the woman's wrist and twisted hard, driving her knee into the woman's groin. By the time the woman hit the floor, Catrin had the blade wedged between the woman's multiple chins.
'Easy now. Easy. Let's not get too excited. Let her up, li'l miss. We mean her no harm, and she means us none. This is all just a misunderstanding,' Benjin said, but his words were ignored.
Catrin snarled at the woman, who now became the target of all her anger, all her resentment. Suddenly this woman was the source of all their troubles, and with one twist of her wrist, she would be gone. It would be so easy. The woman's flesh was soft and pale and would part easily before the razor-sharp blade.
Benjin grabbed Catrin's arm and pulled the knife away from the woman's throat, but he got no gratitude. The woman pulled another blade from her belt, and they all stood in suspense, assessing one another.
'Please, both of you. We can solve this peacefully. Put the blades away. Shedding each other's blood will help no one,' Benjin said.
His words penetrated the haze of fury that still gripped Catrin. With obvious reluctance, she reversed the blade and handed it back to the woman, who seemed surprised.
'Now let us begin again. I'm Benjin Hawk,' he said, and the woman's eyes grew wide again. 'And this is Catrin Volker, daughter of Elsa Mangst.'
His words might as well have been a physical blow for the effect they had on the woman. She fell back against the far wall, and her breathing became rapid. Catrin was shocked by his honesty.
'By the gods, it's true. Isn't it?' she asked with a hysterical glance at Catrin.
'He speaks the truth,' Catrin said, and it was as much an accusation against Benjin as it was an affirmation. The woman sat down heavily and stared at them as if they were beyond explanation.
'You don't mean to kill me,' the woman said, making it more a statement than a question, but Catrin felt the need to respond nonetheless.
'We never intended you any harm, but you certainly scared us,' she said, and she was surprised to see the woman relax a bit and actually sheathe her blades.
'I am Millicent, maid to the Lady Mangst,' the woman said, and now it was Benjin's turn to appear shocked.
'Millie? I didn't even recognize you.'
'You need not tell me the years have been unkind; I am aware, but they've touched you as well,' Millie said.
