Steelforged Legacy 2 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Considering that Casey had just been thinking about how he hadn’t been bothering to bargain in the market, he felt that he’d acquitted himself fairly well when he left the Iron Duck with his purchases.

For all that it took me maybe an hour of digging to collect those truffles, and I didn’t even trade all of them to him. I think that went well, Casey sent to Maude as he adjusted the strap of his carry sack over his shoulder and headed back into the market.

While he walked, Casey kept his left palm balanced idly on top of Maude’s pommel. The pose was a bit awkward, as he had his new quiver and bow slung over his shoulder too, but he would get them attached to his pack when he got back to the inn.

I think you have every reason to be proud. All three elemental cores, four pounds of spirit beast jerky, and another two smaller spirit beast cores is a good trade. Though now that you have that and your other supplies, I think you need to leave town as soon as Thom has the saddle done.

Casey sent her a questioning feeling as he sidestepped around a large group that was crowded around a stall selling meat skewers, doing his best to not step on anyone as they pushed back and forth trying to get to the front of the line while the vendor worked.

That was not a small sale. The clan drengr traded those cores for supplies to use in the raid, then a stranger comes along and buys them so easily, it will raise questions. Also, that merchant will probably offer the mushrooms to the clan in hopes of earning respect. And you know he isn’t going to be shy telling about the man who brought them to him.

Swearing under his breath, Casey couldn’t honestly deny her words. So instead, he turned his feet towards Mountain Heather and started back towards the inn.

The route was choked with even more people as the townsfolk headed to the market for their afternoon shopping. Casey spotted several groups of guards, distinctive because of their polished helmets, but kept to the crowds with his hood up. Given the cool afternoon, it wasn’t entirely strange to hide himself like this.

It’s going to be a pain to get Magnus out of town with this crush. It’s not like he is subtle at all, and that’s with his coat being colored over. Do you think it’s worth staying in town for the night, or should I just take him and leave?

Stay. The tack and saddle are necessary, but do your best to keep your head down. Realistically, I doubt they will cause trouble tonight. But tomorrow, once word has spread of a newcomer in town? Let’s just say that it has become less suspicious to stay in your room rather than spend time in the common room.

Casey had made it most of the way back to Mountain Heather when he remembered the one thing he’d been desperately wanting but had forgotten until now. Groaning, he sighed and just kept walking.

I really wanted to see if there was anywhere that sold armor here. Or even just get some more clothes. I swear, the stories I used to read never really delved into how much of a pain in the ass it was to fight without armor. I don’t think I have a single set of clothes that doesn’t have some kind of cut or bloodstain in it now.

Give it time, Casey. We will soon have you kitted out with far better gear. We just need to get to a location with people who act sane again. I do wish we’d had the coin to outfit ourselves better when we were with the Silver Hammer. Einar’s people were sensible enough.

“Agreed,” Casey grumbled as he pushed through the front door of the inn while shading his eyes to help them adjust to the change in light.

The tavern had gotten busier since he’d left earlier. Three fresh faces joined the four idiots by the fire, and there were another half-dozen groups scattered around the room in twos and threes. All around him, the rumble of conversation was louder now. More than a few sets of eyes turned his direction.

Feigning annoyance, Casey hurried across the room to the bar and caught the barwoman’s attention with a wave of his hand. She looked at him oddly until she got close enough to see under his hood and then understanding flowed across her features.

When Casey leaned on the counter to speak to her quietly, she leaned forward as well, her eyes darting over his shoulder to scan the room.

“Ma’am, a wise fellow in the market advised me to make myself scarce as those of the local powers will be wanting to cause trouble for anyone not from around here. I will take dinner in my room so as not to give them a target or a reason to rough up your establishment. Can you direct me to the bathing room, though?”

Her eyes dropped to meet his again and a look of relief filled them now. The woman nodded twice, gesturing over her shoulder to the stairs that ran upwards from the bar as well as a door that was set underneath them.

“The bathing room is accessible through the door there under the stairs, or if you head up to the second floor, there is a set of stairs going down at the other end. That’s so that folk can bathe and go back to their rooms without having to cross through the commons. I don’t think anyone is using it right now, but I’ll send one of my servants to get the fires going for hot water. I appreciate your forethought.”

Casey just smiled at the relief in her tone and nodded before turning to mount the stairs while adjusting his new purchases.

Those four from this morning are staring at your back, Casey. As well as a few of the others.

Maude, have I ever mentioned how much I love that you are always looking out for me? Casey sent her mentally as he reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hallway.

You have, but I never object to hearing it again. I look forward to the day that I can do more than hang from your belt. Though it is enjoyable to always have your hand on me. There is something quite… titillating about how you idly caress me.

Maude’s teasing made Casey trip over his own feet, and he nearly slammed headfirst into the door to his room.

“Such a brat,” Casey muttered under his breath while fishing out his key and unlocking his door.

If I was a brat, don’t you think I’d be trying harder to wind you up? You know that I would always deliver on anything that I tease you about.

This time, Maude’s voice was filled with a sexual promise that made Casey groan.

“Not right now, Maude… Otherwise it is going to be even more difficult to get undressed for this bath.”

Shall I bathe with you this time? I may not be able to join you in the flesh, but if you wish, I can join you in your core and bathe within your qi once more.

“Sold,” Casey growled, his voice already raspy with desire as he remembered what they’d done the last time she’d joined him inside his center. “You realize now that I’m going to be daydreaming about that while I wash. Gonna make it awkward as hell if there is anyone else in the bathing room.”

Doubtful, but if there is a bathing thrall like back in White Gold Rain, that might be amusing. Maude’s tone was wicked now as she reminded him of the fit warrior woman who had been working in the sauna there.

Casey groaned again, a mixture of desire and annoyance now, while getting his cleanest set of clothes out to go and wash while Maude giggled inside his mind.

<><><>

True to her threat, Maude had done whatever was needed for her spiritual awareness to cross out of her own center and into his.

So while Casey did his best to focus on just washing himself using the harsh soap and hot water in the tiled bathing room, Maude lounged within his spiritual core, her lush body on display for his viewing pleasure, while she mimicked his motions.

Your qi is so warm!

Could you get my back?

Rub my shoulders next time. They are aching from supporting this weight.

These were just a few of the teasing things she sent him with a smirk on her face while reveling in the roiling pool of whirling silver qi at his center.

The pool itself had grown deeper and fuller over the last few days. His battle with Mikhail and the two lackeys of the young master had mostly refilled his qi pool even after the amount he’d drained from it using his sole technique: Skin of the Iron Bear.

With the addition of the qi charged meat of the lynx and the few truffles he’d eaten over the last few days, Casey knew that he was going to be nearing on needing to move to the next Step in his current Journey.

When he finished washing, wishing that he felt comfortable enough here to actually soak in one of the wooden tubs set out for those staying at the inn, Casey headed back to his room.

Like before, he’d left Maude’s weapon form in his rooms to watch after his things, something that he was acutely more wary of with the presence of the cores he had stashed in his pack. He’d taken his belt knife with him to wash—just in case—but hadn’t needed it.

“It’s getting more rowdy down in the common room,” Casey sighed as he tossed his dirty things onto the bed and turned to lock the door.

Not surprising. The sun is beginning to sink, and those who can afford to drink away their problems or celebrate with ale will be flocking to the different taphouses. Now, are you going to join me here within your center, my Casey? Unaware of the more serious bend his thoughts had been taking, Maude’s voice remained teasing.

“Would love to, but I wanted to ask you something. How close do you think I am to taking the third Step? I know you said it would take longer, but I couldn’t help but notice how close to full that qi pool you are bathing in is.”

Casey had been lightly meditating so he could watch Maude this entire time, but not delving so deeply that his consciousness would fall into his center with her. He knew that if he did that, he’d not be able to resist the temptation of his lover’s lush body.

Thankfully, Maude was quick to reign in her own lusty thoughts, recognizing the practicality of his words. She sat up from where she lounged naked within the stone bowl that held his qi reservoir, a businesslike frown on her face as she studied it.

You will need some time yet. If you were to consume those elemental cores you bought, then it would push you far enough to ascend to the third Step. That would take most of the night, though.

“Not happening.” Casey shut down that line of thinking without hesitation and got a nod from Maude while she began wrapping her leather-strap outfit back around herself, pulling her heavy breasts tight to her body once more as she wound the long, wide strip of leather around her body.

I had figured as much. Since you declined when they offered you cores from their own people, I figured you would try to return these to them as well.

“Damn straight. When I found out that each of the cores had the potential to grow into a new elemental, what else could I do? I’m not going to steal a child’s opportunity at life like that.”

Many people wouldn’t even consider that. Power is power, and those cores do not even contain the sparks of life yet. She headed off the anger she could feel welling up inside him a moment later with a reassuring word. I understand why you feel the way you do, but I want you to understand that many would view your thoughts like refusing to eat an unfertilized chicken egg, simply because it has the potential to become a chicken.

“Yeah. Well, if a chicken could talk to me and think, I’d feel the same way.” Casey sighed, taking hold of his rising anger and pushing it away. Maude had a point, and he owed her the respect of listening. It wouldn’t change his stance though, something she obviously understood too since she dropped the subject.

Not utilizing the elemental cores? Then… the two spirit beast cores and a week’s time will get you there. It’s too bad the vendor didn’t know how the clan disposes of their Fomori cores. It varies from clan to clan, but there is always a process.

Casey settled onto his bed and started looping the straps that went with his new quiver into the buckles on the side of the pack. One thing that had drawn him to this pack was the buckles and loops on it that reminded him of the Moll-e straps he used to use on his police gear during his brief time on the force, and he put those to good use then while securing the reinforced quiver.

“Like what?” Casey asked, wanting to continue his conversation with Maude while he prepared.

Some clans might leave them in a remote place, where nothing will touch them but the bright light of the sun and strength of the elements will eventually wash them clean. Others gift them to the priesthood, who then offer them to the different gods. I remember hearing from one of my aunts that the Celts bury them in a specific peat bog that they say is blessed by their god of death. There the cores are drawn beneath the peat and purified of their taint, which feeds their gods.

“Celts?” Casey glanced over at the seax where it sat on the table nearby. The only light in the room was that coming from the glowing baldrsteinn, as night had fallen outside and only darkness and torchlight glimmered in the window through its simple, cloudy glass.

Did you think the faithful of the Aesir and Vanir were the only ones who came here? When the Fomori attacked Asgard, they also assaulted many other places of power. The Tuatha Dé Danann were the ones who drove off the Fomori to begin with. Underhill itself came under attack by the Fomori, and those who still believed in the Tuatha came here as well, to grow in power and join their gods to turn back the tides. The Celts call it something else, but they walk the Drengr’s Road as surely as you do. 

“What other groups are there?” Casey asked, intrigued. Since Loki had been the one to bring him here, he’d thought that the people of this world were only of the Norse faith.

There is the Nation, which is what you are a part of. To the north of the Nation are the Celts, who follow the Tuatha. South of the Nation are the People, who follow the Great Spirits. You might have knowledge of them as the tribes your people displaced when they took over North America. There are a number of other smaller clans that hold their own away from the Nation, such as the Rus and the Langobard. They are scattered around the edges of the Nation and the People. I believe there is a group known as the Picts north and west of the Nation as well, though they clash often with the Celts.

“What about to the west and east?” Casey finished securing his quiver and began packing his new purchases into his pack.

He was hoping that Thom would finish the work on his saddle early in the day and he could get back on the road. Something about this town itched at his senses, making him anxious. There were plenty of good people here, from the old bow seller to Thom and his mother, but Casey’s instincts were telling him to get moving.

West is the dead land. It was once rich with life and spirit beasts, but the Fomori began to encroach from that direction. The different clans of the Nation and our neighbors rallied to oppose them, to claim as much of that territory as their own in order to save it, but now the majority is blasted by the taint of the Fomori. Only ancient and powerful spirit beasts still live out there, hunting the Fomori in revenge for the devastation wrought there. East of the nation are a few other smaller groups, mostly based on the islands in the great sea there. Aegir’s Comb that I once told you of is out that way too.

“One of these days, you are going to have to draw me a map or something,” Casey paused when he had the leather pouch with the cores in it.

He stared at the soft leather container thoughtfully for a moment before upending it in his right hand.

Five items rolled out. Two were the oblong, clear crystals that he was used to from his limited harvest of spirit beasts. He still had the core from the Leaf Lynx in his belt pouch as well, so he separated out the two blue stones similar to it and tucked them into there. The other three he studied for several long moments.

Two of the elemental cores were familiar, shaped so much like an acorn that they would have easily blended in with a pile of the small nuts. But on closer inspection these appeared to be carved of a dense stone and had a dull, green glow to them.

The third, though, was strange to Casey. That stone had a point at one end and was wide on the other, like a large scale that was maybe half an inch thick and two inches long. The core’s edges were rounded off, leaving it vaguely shaped like a kite shield, and it glowed with a dull brown light.

He was just about to ask Maude about them, curious if she knew what that strange third stone tied to, when raised voices outside his window drew Casey’s attention. He dropped the stones back into their pouch and hurried to the window.

The panes swung out on a squeaky hinge, and Casey stuck his head out to look towards the street fronting the tavern and the source of the raised voices.

Outside, he saw a set of five men in the same russet tunics that he remembered Mikhail wearing, though not of the same quality that the idiot had been wearing. Based on the body language and waved hands, they appeared to be arguing about something as they approached the door, but Casey wasn’t sure what exactly it was being said as the rumble of conversation from inside the tavern was covering some of it.

It wasn’t until the man in the front whirled from his position on the street and started towards the front of Mountain Heather that the front of his clothes were illuminated enough that the metallic thread shaped in a clenched fist on the front of his shirt told Casey exactly what he didn’t want to know.

The other four following after their friend with sour looks and wearing the same sigil on their tunics cemented that fact to him. The Bronze Fist was here, but were they here for him? He thought for a moment, turning over the options in his head.

“Maude—” Casey started to say, but the thunder of feet on the stairs, then coming down the hall towards his room, cut him off. Casey took the two steps to get to the table and yanked Maude out of her sheath moments before a frantic pounding at the door came.

“Magnus’ master, let Thom in?” a familiar voice called through the door and Casey felt the tension leave him again. Maude sighed in his mind as well, relief and irritation in her voice as she spoke within his mind.

Fire and slag. That startled me. What does the man want that he’s come pounding up here like that?

Let’s find out, Casey thought. He didn’t sheathe his weapon, instead stepping to the door and unlocking it before he opened it just a slit. The worried face of Thom pressed nearly to the door jamb, the man’s offset eyes wild with concern and he was chewing on his upper lip again in worry.

“What is it, Thom?” Casey asked warily, peering past the man to confirm the hallway was empty.

“Finished with saddle and tack. Magnus has new outfit!” the slow man proclaimed happily in his broken speech. “Magnus’ master pay Thom for quick work, so Thom do quick work! Thom glad now, bad men asking about big boy.” The last part had the simple man’s face falling in concern and again he was chewing on his upper lip strangely.

Casey’s insides, which had been relaxing at first when he confirmed Thom was the only one in the hallway, clenched again at that.

“Thom, are you sure?”

“Thom sure. Thom heard ask about man with elk like Magnus while Thom getting his dinner. Boss lady heard too, sent Thom to warn.”

Shit, if they are already looking for Magnus, then they just need to check the stables. The owner can’t stall them long, or else she’ll be seen as aiding you. Unless she knows about Magnus specifically. You only told her that you had a mount that Thom was working on, right? Maude’s words were urgent, and Casey wracked his brain for a moment before nodding.

“I only told her that Thom had an animal he was looking after for me. She can tell them that, and that’ll lead them out to the stables to look. Thom, you said Magnus had his new outfit. Is he wearing it?”

Thom bobbed his head in agreement, a proud smile pulling his upper lip from between his teeth again before worry knitted the simple man’s brows once more. Before Thom could ask, Casey continued.

“Okay. If your ‘boss lady’ calls for you, then go ahead and tell her about Magnus.” That order got an angry scowl from Thom, but Casey held him back with a hand, asking for a moment. “I’m going to go and get Magnus now. I don’t want you to lie to them and get in trouble, okay Thom? You need to be safe and look after your mother too, right?”

Thom’s angry expression dropped down into a resigned frown and he nodded, clearly understanding where this was going. Again, Casey heard words from his past cross from his memories into his present mind. They aren’t stupid, it just takes them a bit longer to put the pieces together..

“Thom understand. Thom came to say, job done. If asked, Thom can say elkh here. Thom look after mum.” The slow man nodded firmly, his eyes hardening and his thick hands balling into fists. “Door by baths open behind stables. Look after Magnus, yes?”

Casey gave the man a reassuring smile and reached through the slightly open door to pat Thom on one thick shoulder.

“I promise, Thom. I’ll look after Magnus.”

<><><>

Sneaking out the back of the inn wasn’t difficult, as the back hallway by the baths was just as empty as it had been earlier. 

Casey was glad that he’d gotten washed up quickly and gone back to his room, though he regretted not getting his dinner. That pork roast smelled delicious as he passed the door to the kitchen and ducked through to the narrow alley behind Mountain Heather.

There was a refuse pile just to one side of the door, judging by the stink of it, and he took a moment to orient himself.

While he had a baldrsteinn in his pouch, Casey didn’t want to take it out and give away his position. Instead, he followed the scent of horses, hay, and manure towards the stable and found the thin gate that Thom had told him was there.

It is heartening to know that there are honest and good people here, despite the fact their overseeing clan seems to be so bent on being fools, Maude said as Casey snuck through the darkness of the stable-yard.

“That or they just want me gone so that the Bronze Fist doesn’t cause a mess,” Casey muttered, ducking through the same doorway that he’d seen Thom use earlier.

Inside the stable itself, it was actually brighter than outside as a cloudy, yellow baldrsteinn the size of a small melon hung from a chain in the middle of the room. A few horses stirred in stalls, but a familiar huff from a spot in the back drew Casey’s attention and he hurried over to find Magnus shifting uneasily in his stall.

“Hey there, big guy. We need to get the hell out of here and do so quietly. Your little buddy Thom came to let me know about your fancy duds being done. Are you okay with not spending the night here?” Casey asked, pulling the saddlebags off his shoulder and slipping into the stall.

Magnus huffed again, tossing his antlered head and glaring at Casey as if to say: ‘why are you even asking?’

The elk stilled under Casey’s touch and with Maude’s guidance; he got the mostly empty saddlebags looped into place. He’d not had time to switch things back around yet, so he would load them up for the elk when they had a moment.

Casey wished he had time to study the new saddle and blanket that lay under it, but Magnus seemed comfortable with the setup, so he had to trust that Thom knew his work.

Given that the man hadn’t tried to fit Magnus with a bit—instead opting for a simple bitless bridle that was buckled to one side of Magnus’ head—Casey was sure he could trust the slow man’s skills. The bridle was currently looped and knotted to one side to keep it out of the way and so it wouldn’t drag, something Casey was glad for as he’d only need the bridle for the front of Magnus being a normal elk from now on.

When he had everything set, Casey opened the door to the stable and gestured for Magnus to head out. The smart elk didn’t need any other prompting and trotted through and down the narrow walkway between stalls. Casey let the stall fall closed and followed Magnus out into the night.

The voices inside the tavern were louder now, but still indistinct enough he couldn’t pick up what they were saying.

“Okay, Maude. What’s the plan here? The city gates are going to be closed for the night. How the hell do I get out of town with big and horny here?” Casey muttered as he peeked over the half-door that led out of the stable-yard and onto the street.

Thankfully, the crowds he’d seen earlier were gone now, with only a few isolated groups moving back and forth on the street. The tenseness of the situation had adrenaline making Casey’s blood sing in his veins.

Magnus huffed and glanced back up the road towards the gates and then down at Casey.

He’s right. The gates may be closed, but we are on the side with the lock. It doesn’t hurt to check and see if they will let us out, can play the ‘merchant needing to get on the road’ thing again if the guard is different. They already proved earlier today they accept bribes.

With nothing better to go on than Maude’s suggestion, Casey opened the gate to the stable-yard and urged Magnus through.

The elk moved with a purpose, only sparing one sad glance back towards the tavern. Casey had a feeling that Magnus was mourning the fact he couldn’t spend more time with the new friend he’d made in Thom.