A pained look comes to his face. “If I’ve given you offense…” he begins.
James waves off the coming apology and says, “It is nothing you have done or didn’t do. Something else has arisen that we must see to right away.”
Somewhat relieved at that, the innkeeper says, “If you need anything, just let me know.”
“I shall do that,” James assures him. Leaving the innkeeper behind, he moves across the common room and makes for the woman and her daughter.
At his approach, the girl says something to her mother. The mother glances up to him with tears in her eye. “Thank you,” she says in his language.
“You speak my language?” he asks amazed.
“Yes,” she replies. “My husband and I spent many years in Cardri before our daughter was born.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he says. Pulling out a chair from the table he sits down.
“So am I,” she says with a catch in her voice as her emotions get the better of her.
James waits patiently until the tears stop flowing. “There’s something I would like to ask you if you don’t mind,” he tells her.
Using a kerchief to wipe away her tears, she takes a deep breath to calm herself then nods. “What would you like to know?” she asks.
He pulls forth Cassie’s necklace from his pouch. “This was found in the possession of the men who took your daughter,” he explains. “Did this come from you or your husband?”
She takes the necklace and looks intently at the heart with the two diamonds. After a moment she shakes her head. “I don’t think so,” she says as she hands the necklace back to him. “It’s lovely though.”
Just then Potbelly comes to the table and sets the sack containing the loot liberated from the captors. “Here you go ma’am,” he says.
“What’s this?” she asks as the sack is placed before her.
“Gold and jewels we found with your daughter’s captors,” James explains. “It’s for you and your daughter.”
“I can’t take all of this,” she says. “You keep some for yourselves. It’s the least you deserve for what you did for my daughter.”
Shaking his head, he says, “No. We don’t need it and it will help you along now that your husband is gone.” He nods to her daughter. “It will also provide a nice dowry for your daughter when the time comes.”
Another round of tears comes as she says, “Thank you.”
“There is no need for thanks ma’am,” James says. Then to Miko and Brother Willim he says, “We need to get going.” Standing up, he turns his attention again to the mother and says, “I would wish you happiness, but that may take some time to come again. Instead, I shall wish you long life and good health. That when happiness once more comes, you will be able to enjoy it for a very long time.”
“May your travels be safe ones,” she tells him. The little girl gets off her mother’s lap and at first looks to be moving to give James a hug. Instead, she moves around him to where Potbelly has come to stand behind him. Wrapping her arms around his legs, she gives him a hug.
Standing there a little embarrassed, he reaches down and pats her on the head. Looking at a loss at what further he should do, he simply stands there until her hug comes to an end. Then she quickly returns to her mother.
James gives him a smile and nods toward the door indicating they should be going. With the others following, he crosses the room and leaves the inn. Outside, he finds that Reilin and Stig already have their horses ready with their belongings secured behind the saddles. Moving to his horse, James quickly mounts.
Several of the people standing nearby come to Miko and give him coins. Surprised, he at first makes to refuse them, but a quick shake of the head by Brother Willim convinces him to take them.
“Let’s go,” says James and then turns to head back to where Jiron is waiting at the farmhouse with the prisoners.
“It’s an offering,” he hears Brother Willim say to Miko.
“An offering?” he asks.
“Some people hold to the belief that if you give coins to a priest after he saves the life of someone,” he explains, “that you will be blessed for your generosity.”
Holding the coins in his hand, he asks, “What should I do with this?”
“Keep it and use it how you will,” he replies. “If you had an actual temple, I would say to put it in the temple’s coffers. But right now, you are the temple. So use it as you see fit.”
Nodding, he puts the coins in his pocket.
James grins as he thinks of how the coins will most likely be used should they run across a bakery selling tarts any time soon.
They ride in silence on their return to the farmhouse. The light coming from its window soon appears in the distance ahead of them. As they draw close, a shadow disengages itself from the night and comes forward. “Everything go okay,” Shorty asks them.
“Yes,” James replies. “The girl is once again reunited with her mother. The parents of the two boys were there as well.”
“Good,” he says. “Find out anything about the necklace? Jiron’s been climbing the walls ever since you left.”
“She never saw it before,” he says.
“Too bad for those three we have tied up inside,” Shorty says as he walks with them back to the farmhouse. “Jiron’s not going to be satisfied if they can’t tell him something.”
Sighing, James says, “I know.” Moving to the farmhouse he sees Jiron framed in the doorway.
“Well?” he asks.
James holds out the necklace to him and says, “She didn’t know anything.”
Taking it, Jiron nods. Looking past James’ shoulder he hollers, “Reilin! I need you.”
“Be right there,” he replies.
Jiron then turns and goes back in the farmhouse. James follows him in.
The three men still sit in the same place where they were when he had left to return the children. Even though the dead bodies have been removed, the blood that was spilled during the fight remains.
“What do you need?” asks Reilin when he enters the room.
Jiron waves him over to where he stands before the three prisoners and shows Reilin the necklace. “I want you to ask them where they got this,” he explains.
“Why?” he asks.
“The last time I saw it was when Tinok left,” he replies.
“The same Tinok we are trying to find?” he questions.
Nodding, Jiron says, “That’s right.”
Taking the necklace from Jiron, he turns to the prisoners. Holding up in front of them, he asks, “Where did you get this?” Three sets of eyes stare back at him silently. “Tell me!” he insists. When they still refuse to answer, he turns back to Jiron. “They’re being stubborn.”
Jiron removes one of the knives that the Renlon’s gave him back in Illion. He grabs the hair of the closest man and puts the knife’s point an inch away from the man’s left eye. Then he says to Reilin, “Ask them again.” The man whose eye is being threatened begins to sweat. His eyes flick from the point of the knife, to Jiron, and then to Reilin.
“Now, my friend is real anxious to find out about how you came to be in possession of this necklace,” he explains to the man with the knife before his eye. “It once belonged to a friend of his, and the fact that you had it causes him great concern. Things will go much smoother if you would cooperate.”
“It isn’t ours,” the man being threatened states. When he speaks, Jiron backs the knife a few inches away from in front of his eye.
“That’s right,” another of the prisoners adds. “If we tell you what we know will you let us go?”
Reilin translates for the others who have gathered to watch the proceedings. James says, “If they convince us they are telling the truth and have told everything they know, we won’t kill them.”
When Reilin explains that to them, the man says, “Very well.” Eyes moving from James then to the others, he says “It was Gryll’s.”
