realize he wasn’t getting out. He began baaing pitifully, pleading for her to come back but she had more important things to see to than the happiness of a sheep.
Kaitlyn didn’t immediately head for The Sterling Sheep. As nervous as she was over what the possible meeting would divulge, she didn’t want to go alone. So trudging through the snow, she made a beeline for the home of Elle Kelon, Chad’s mother.
Their two boys did everything together, where you found one the other usually wasn’t very far away. They even joined the Warriors Guild together. More than likely, whatever the man had to say about her son, would affect Chad in some way as well.
Cutting through the woods as she did, she skirted the town and came to Elle’s place in short order. A small home, it seemed larger now that two of their three boys no longer lived there. The third Kelon son, Eryl, was busily clearing snow as she approached the house.
“Good morning, Mrs. Borenson,” he said. Pausing in his work, he leaned upon the shovel.
“You too, Eryl,” she replied. “Is your mother home?”
He nodded then pointed to the house. “She’s inside,” he answered.
“Thank you,” she said. Hurrying past the youngest Kelon son, she hurried to the door. The sound of Eryl returning to work accompanied her as she came to the door and entered. They had been friends long enough for them to be able to enter each other’s home without knocking.
“Elle?” she said as she closed the door and entered the front room.
Elle poked her head out of the kitchen. A smile broke across her face when she saw who it was. “Kate!” she exclaimed. “How good to see you.” Then her face lost some of the smile when she took notice of the worry etched on Kaitlyn’s face.
“Are you busy right now?” Kaitlyn asked. Crossing the front room, she was met halfway by Elle.
“Why?” she asked. “Is there anything wrong?” Laying a hand on her friend’s shoulder, her eyes sought an answer in Kaitlyn’s.
“I’m not entirely sure,” replied Kaitlyn. Then she told of the stranger and his request to meet with her at The Sterling Sheep. “He said it had something to do with Riyan,” she explained. “I was hoping you could come with me. If you weren’t too busy.”
Elle reached out and took her hand. She could see worry and fear in her friend’s eyes. “We’ve been friends for too long for me to ever be that busy when you need me,” she replied. “Let me take the stew off the fire and I’ll get dressed.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“I’ll be but a minute,” Elle said. She patted Kaitlyn’s hand then returned back into the kitchen. A minute later she left the kitchen and headed to her room at the back of the house. When she reappeared, she had on her warmest jacket, a hat, and a wool scarf. “You don’t think this concerns my Chad too do you?” she asked.
“He didn’t say,” Kaitlyn replied.
As Elle opened the door, Eryl was standing outside knocking snow off his boots, about ready to come in. “I’m going into town for an hour or so,” she told him. “Keep an eye on the place while I’m gone.”
“But mama,” he replied. “Father said I could go over to Kaleb’s when I was finished clearing a path to the barn!”
“Don’t argue with me,” she said in that tone all mothers use on a child who balks at doing what he’s told. “You can go when I get back.”
“But…” he started to say, but stopped when he met her unwavering glare. Backing down, he said, “Yes mama.”
“Good,” she said. Then she and Kaitlyn left him by the door as they headed toward The Sterling Sheep.
On the way they passed friends and neighbors both had known all their lives. Other than a few quick words of greeting, they didn’t waste any time in reaching The Sterling Sheep.
It was quiet when they entered the warm interior and made their way to the common room. This early in the day there were rarely any customers, though usually there was a class teaching the children of Quillim their letters and numbers. It had been canceled due to the snow. It was hard enough to get a child to stay focused on a regular day. But with a deep blanket of snow, forget it.
One lone figure sat at a table against the back wall. It was easy to recognize him as the man who had paid her a visit. He was six feet and muscular. Dark hair with piercing brown eyes, his appearance did little to put the two ladies at ease.
When he saw them standing by the door, he came to his feet and gestured for them to come over. He broke into a friendly smile as they drew near his table. “I’m glad you came,” he said. Then he glanced to Elle and asked. “And you are?”
She extended her hand. “Elle Kelon,” she replied.
“Ah,” he said as he took her hand and gave a slight bow over it, “Chadric’s mother.” After releasing Elle’s hand, he said, “My name is Daniel Sanderson.”
The smile that had come to her at him honoring her hand disappeared the moment he said who she was. The fact that a stranger knew who she was didn’t set well with her. “How do you know my son?” she asked.
Instead of replying, he gestured to two of the vacant seats at his table, “Please have a seat.”
Kaitlyn glanced to Elle, both were confused and a bit nervous of this man.
The man waited until they were seated in their chairs before he sat in his. “As to your question,” he began, “I have never met either of your sons.”
“Mr. Sanderson, how do you know so much about them then?” Kaitlyn asked.
He didn’t answer right away. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled forth a copper coin. Holding it up before Kaitlyn and Elle, he asked, “Have either of you seen a coin like this before?” He rotated it so they could see the figure portrayed on one side and the symbol engraved on the back.
Kaitlyn looked at it then shook her head no. Elle did the same. “Why? Should we have?” Kaitlyn asked.
The man returned the coin to his pouch. “A few months ago, your sons sold a quantity of such coins to a man who fences stolen items,” he explained.
Elle’s eyes widened. She remembered the gold coins Chad had given them after the debacle with the grinding wheels. She glanced to Kaitlyn and saw that she, too, remembered the time just before they disappeared for a month.
“They said they had found gems while camping in the mountains,” Elle said.
“Are they in some kind of trouble?” asked Kaitlyn.
“Not at the moment, no,” he replied. “But if word of what they did reached the wrong people, they could be.” He could see the fear for their sons growing in their eyes. Inwardly, he smiled.
He let what he said sink in for a few seconds before adding, “There are some who believe they stole the coins.”
“My Riyan is no thief!” Kaitlyn said, a bit more forcefully than she had intended.
“Neither is Chad,” asserted Elle.
“But why else would they sell the coins to someone who is known for dealing in stolen merchandise?” he asked. “If they had found them legitimately, say buried somewhere, then why wouldn’t they have sold them to a dealer in rarities. They would surely have fetched more gold that way. Such questions cast serious doubt upon their actions.”
“I don’t know what…” Elle began defensively with a touch of anger before Kaitlyn stopped her with a look.
Kaitlyn turned to the man and asked, “Why are you here?”
“When word reached me about this situation,” he explained, “I immediately realized the serious repercussions that could fall upon your two boys.” The man paused a moment, he could see the worry and fear they felt for their sons in their eyes. “Either they stole the coins as some would believe, or they found them. If they found the coins, then by law, they must turn over twenty percent to Duke Alric. Which from the way things look, they didn’t.”
Elle’s eyes got a frightened look when she realized her son may have broken the Duke’s law. “What is going to happen?” she asked. Unconsciously, she moved closer to Kaitlyn who laid a hand on her arm.
Daniel shrugged. “That would depend on whether or not your sons can get the Duke’s twenty percent to him before he finds out what’s happened,” he replied. “And from the way the rumor is circulating, that won’t be too far
