before.
It doesn’t take long before a girl comes over to take his order and is soon enjoying a breakfast of ham steak, potatoes and eggs. While he eats, he notices two gentlemen at a table in the middle of the room in the midst of a friendly conversation. One is in his mid forties and the other is a younger man, perhaps early twenties. They look like father and son, both dark haired and dressed well.
James takes notice of another man sitting alone at a table in the corner. He isn’t eating, just having a drink. He soon comes to realize the man in the corner is taking an unusual interest in the two men. His clothes are a bit ragged and is unshaven, hair uncombed. His eyes never stay on the two men for any length of time, but James notices that they come to rest on them often.
Finishing his meal, James sits back and takes his time finishing his drink. Wondering what the man in the corner is up to, he just relaxes and waits. Sipping on his ale, it’s almost gone when the two men finally finish their meal and head for the exit leading out to the stables. Out of the corner of his eye, James sees the man’s attention is now completely focused on the two men. As they exit the inn, the man gets up and follows them out.
Curious, James walks over to the door and peers through to see what’s going on. He finds the two men entering the stables, while the single man makes his way across the courtyard to a window in the side of the stable and looks inside. The man gazes through the window for a few seconds, and then quickly glances around the courtyard. James ducks back from the doorway then peers around again a second later. He sees that the man is no longer looking through the window. Instead, he’s walking around to the stable door where he slips inside.
Leaving the inn, James hurries across the courtyard to the stable’s door. Coming from within the stables he hears hushed voices, but is unable to make out the words. Nearing the entrance, he begins to be able to make out what is being said inside.
“…Now!” says a voice, menacingly.
“Here, take it! Just don’t hurt us.” James recognizes the voice of the older of the two gentlemen. Cautiously peering around the door, he sees the older man handing a purse over to the robber. The robber is standing with sword drawn, the point scant inches from the chest of the younger man. Taking the purse, he gauges the weight of the coins contained within and then places it inside his tunic.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” the robber says. He begins backing toward James slowly, his sword still leveled at the two men.
James quickly looks around and sees a pile of old broken boards lying next to the side of the stable. He quickly and quietly takes a two foot long piece and then stands ready to wallop the robber as he exits.
From where he stands with the board raised high, he hears the robber coming closer to the doorway. When he judges that the robber is close enough, James swings the board with all his might and feels a soft thud as it connects with the back of the robber.
The robber stumbles forward from the force of the blow, his sword sailing out of his hand. Falling to the floor, he quickly rolls and regains his feet, knife drawn.
The two men, though surprised by James’ attack, quickly react as they draw their swords and advance on the robber. The robber realizes his advantage is lost and leaves his sword on the ground where it fell. Making a quick leap through the side window, he hits the ground on the other side.
“Thief!” the older man yells. The younger man starts running for the door where James stands and gives chase to the robber.
James glances toward the robber as he gains his feet and for a short second, their eyes lock. He can see the hate behind those eyes, directed at him. Then the robber turns and runs to where a saddled horse is tied to the hitching post. The younger man rushes through the door and runs after him, but is not fast enough to catch the robber before he mounts his horse. Spurring him to a gallop, the robber quickly races between the buildings until he is out of sight.
The older gentleman comes to James and holds his hand out, “Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just sorry he got away,” he replies, shaking the man’s hand.
Holding up the pouch, the man says, “When you hit him, our money fell out of his tunic as he hit the ground. We are in your debt.”
The younger one comes up as James asks, “Did you know him?”
Shaking his head the younger one replies, “No.” Looking at the older man he asks, “Have you father?”
“No,” replies his father. “But I’ll know him if I ever see him again.” Looking around, he stares at the courtyard, empty except for themselves and James. No one even bothered themselves to come and give aid when he called ‘Thief!’
Turning to James the father says, “I guess we’re pretty lucky not all people are cowards. My name’s Renlon, this here is my son Kinney. We’re heading north if you’d care to travel with us.”
Smiling at the offer he replies, “No thank you, I’m on my way south to Bearn. My name’s James.”
“Well James, if you’re ever in Illion, you’re welcome to our hospitality,” the father says. “We own and operate an iron mine and smelter. Maybe you’ve heard of us, Renlon’s Iron?”
“No, sorry, never heard of it. I’m new to the area,” he explains. “I will definitely stop by should I be that way.”
Digging into his purse he hands James two gold coins. “Here, take this with our gratitude.”
Taking the gold, he says “Thank you.”
Placing the gold in with his other coins, he then goes and checks on his horse, finding that he has been well taken care of. James then saddles him and walks him over to the hitching post near the front of the inn. Tying him there, he returns to the inn to gather his belongings left by the table when he went to investigate the happenings at the stable. He brings them out and secures them to the saddle before mounting. As he turns to leave the inn, he spies Renlon and his son and waves goodbye. They wave back and soon James has put the inn far behind as he continues his way south.
On the road again…, he begins singing one of his favorite songs. Spirits once again high, he brings his horse to a trot and exhilarates in his freedom. No demands, no tests, no grandparents pushing him to get a job. What could be better? The rest of the day goes by pretty uneventfully. Long before Bearn appears on the horizon, the untamed countryside turns into farmland with hardworking farmers out in their fields. By the time Bearn finally appears in the distance ahead, the sun is only a couple hours away from dipping below the horizon. Two days, just as Corbin said.
He finds Bearn to be much bigger than Trendle. The city seems to stretch for over a mile to the east of the river and probably half as much on the west side. There’s a large bridge spanning the river near the center of the city as well as a smaller one further to the south.
An encircling wall gives the city some security and protection. The road passes through a gate in the north wall allowing entry into the city. Approaching the gate, he notices several guards maintaining order, occasionally pulling aside various travelers and asking questions. As James approaches the gate, one of the guards comes over and states, “Welcome to Bearn. Please state your name and reason for visiting.”
The guard looks bored, as if he has already asked this question a thousand times today.
“My name is James,” he explains. “I am just passing through, though I plan on staying the night at the Flying Swan. Maybe a day or two at the most.”
The guard nods his head, makes a quick notation on a piece of paper, and then waves James on through.
Once through, he finds merchant stalls lining the street, each with a loud proprietor trying to entice people entering the city to buy their goods. Some people occasionally stop to inspect the goods offered while others pointedly ignore them as they attempt to get by without being hassled.
Several street boys come up to James, each pitching some business or other where they could take him.
“Come with me sir, I can take you to the prettiest girls in town,” one lad offers.
“His girls are the ugliest,” yells another. “Come to Banif’s and you’ll see the best.”
Holding up his hand for quiet, James asks “Can one of you take me to the Flying Swan?”
Several hands fly into the air and he points to one of about thirteen. The boy heads off with James following close behind.
The boy takes him down several streets and then heads west, crossing over the big bridge that he saw earlier. The boy occasionally glances back to make sure that he hasn’t lost him. They finally arrive at a building bearing a colorful sign depicting a white swan in flight over a lake. The boy stops in front of the Flying Swan and
