It was a clear day, and the sun shone down from a cloudless blue sky but did little to warm the freezing temperatures on the ground. Naked branches rustled as a frigid wind blew in from the mountains to the west, signalling that winter had well and truly arrived, and sent people scurrying from cover to cover as they made their way down the town’s frozen streets.
Elverad shivered before pressing his hands against one of the Hog’s Head’s windows and peered inside. The main room was impressively spotless. Old Vermand must have stayed up all night tidying up. Perhaps that was why he wasn’t awake at this hour. Elverad could see the clock from his vantage point. It was ten minutes past noon. Ten minutes past when he was supposed to begin work. It was out of character for his employer not to be ready well before the help arrived, and Elverad was beginning to worry. Had the stranger… Ingram… had he returned in the night? There was no sign of struggle as far as he could see…
“Why are you skulking about outside like some sort of thief?” Elverad jumped when he heard Teo’s voice behind him.
The boy whirled around and scowled. “You’re late.”
The barmaid looked past him and into the tavern before shrugging. “So is Vermand, from the look of it. Why are you waiting out here?”
Elverad rattled the doorknob theatrically. “It’s locked.”
“Aren’t you just precious, young Elverad?” Teo giggled before producing a key from her pocket.
“No,” the boy gasped, wide-eyed as he watched the girl insert the key and twist it. The locks slid open with a loud crack, and she opened the door triumphantly.
“Why did you Mister Vermand trust you with a key?” he demanded.
“He didn’t,” Teo pressed a finger to her lips and winked. “Let’s keep this our little secret, shall we?”
“Wait, you had a copy made without Vermand knowing?” Elverad hissed.
“Don’t tell the whole town,” she laughed before stepping inside. “Now, do you want to stand out in the cold, or do you want to get to work?”
“How are you going to explain how you got in?” Elverad asked, deciding to remain outside.
“I’ll just say the door wasn’t locked,” she shrugged. “Shut the door if you’re going to stay outside. You’re letting the cold in.”
Elverad debated his options, and it didn’t take him long to decide he’d rather be inside, out of the cold. Fuming, he walked in and closed the door behind him before looking around.
“It’s not like Vermand to sleep in,” he remarked.
“Perhaps that has something to do with it,” Teo remarked, cocking her head at a half empty bottle of brandy on the bar. “He’s probably sleeping it off upstairs.”
Elverad looked up the stairs and his worries began to subside. Obviously, Mister Vermand had been rattled by his old acquaintance’s sudden appearance, had a few drinks to calm his nerves, and was now just sleeping it off.
“Perhaps someone should go check on him,” the boy suggested.
Teo shook her head. “No, let’s let him sleep in a little more. Then we can hold it over his head the next time one of us is late.”
“You have a wicked mind,” Elverad growled. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“It’s a dog eat dog world out there,” Teo sang. “If you don’t look out for yourself, who will?”
A sudden thought occurred to the boy, and he hurried over to the bar and reached under the counter. His pulse began to quicken when his fingers couldn’t find the blunderbuss. He ducked his head under and gasped.
“It’s gone!”
“What is, the strong box?” Teo demanded as she hurried over. “Have we been robbed?”
Elverad blinked and looked at the locked metal box where the day’s takings were kept. “No, that’s still here.”
“Oh,” Teo said, sounding relieved as she leaned over the bar. “What’s missing, then?”
“The blunderbuss Mister Vermand keeps under here,” Elverad replied. “I fear…”
Teo disappeared before he could finish his thought. Elverad blinked before chasing after her. “Where are you going?”
The barmaid didn’t reply, but Elverad caught a glimpse of her skirt as she rushed up the stairs.
“Wait!” he cried. “We’re forbidden from going upstairs.”
“Then stay down there,” she barked.
From the sound of her voice, she was already halfway down the hall of the upper level. Elverad looked at the coat rack by the doorway and frowned. There was Mister Vermand’s coat, scarf and hat… It was freezing outside, where could he have gone without them?
“He’s not here!” Teo called. “His travelling cloak and hat are gone as well!”
“Travelling cloak?” Elverad asked in a bewildered voice. Curiosity got the best of him, and he began climbing the stairs in time to bump into Teo, who was on her way down.
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“He’s gone,” she breathed.
Almost at once, Elverad knew what he had to do and walked towards the door. Once there, he realized he was forgetting something and changed course for the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Teo asked breathlessly.
“After him,” he replied without hesitating.
Teo chased after him and asked breathlessly. “What do you think that will achieve?”
“I’ll talk some sense into him, beg him to come back, cry if I have to,” he replied curtly and began gathering loaves of old bread. He didn’t know how far he would have to travel, and the only money he had was what he’d been paid the night before, and who knew how long that would last on the road?
“Do you even know where he went?” Teo demanded.
“The stranger mentioned Lucentum yesterday,” Elverad replied before wrapping the loaves of bread with a square of cloth. He paused and looked around for a bag. He found a large haversack used for carrying bottles and emptied its contents onto the kitchen floor and shoved more food inside.
“Why go to such lengths to bring him back?” Teo asked. “Vermand’s made his decision.”
Elverad stopped what he was doing and looked the girl in the eye. “I was on the road for three years, doing whatever work I could find. This is the best paying and easiest gig I’ve found. I’ll be damned if I let it slip so easily.”
A sly smile twisted Teo’s lips. “And you had a go at me for looking after myself.”
“I’m also concerned about Mister Vermand’s wellbeing,” he added before looking around the kitchen for more things he could stuff into the haversack.
“I’m sure you are,” Teo remarked dryly. She watched Elverad pack for a moment before declaring. “I’m coming as well.”
Elverad gave her a look. “Oh no, you’re not.”
The girl jutted her jaw out and folded her hands across her chest. “And just who do you think you are to tell me that.”
“I’m going alone,” the boy declared.
“Oh, and you know the way to Lucentum, do you?” she asked. There was a challenging tone to her voice.
The boy blinked. “No, I don’t… do you?”
Teo angled her head back so that she could look down her nose at Elverad in triumph before replying. “Of course I do. Mine is a family of merchants, and my father took us there when I was five.”
“I can ask for directions,” he snorted.
“You know full well there’s a difference between getting directions and knowing the route first hand,” she said. “Old Vermand has a head start on us, and it’s not as though you can afford to take any wrong turns, can you?”
Elverad paused and ground his teeth. Teofania Helfrad person he could have wished for as a travel companion, but she had a point. He didn’t know the way, and the roads around Noggle’s Watch were vague at best.
Sensing that he was wavering, Teo went for the jugular. “Besides, two of us will make a more persuasive argument than one.”
“Then why not just invite the whole town?” Elverad groused.
“Perhaps we should?” she said, punctuating her question with a dramatic fluttering of her eyelashes.
“Fine,” the boy conceded at length.
A shocked look crossed Teo’s face. “I was only joking about inviting the whole town, you know.”
Elverad scowled. “I meant fine, you can come with me, but I’m already seeing why that’s a bad idea.”
“Oh come now, don’t be such a stick in the mud,” she giggled before placing a hand on Elverad’s arm and looking him deep in the eye.
The boy’s heart almost stopped when she leaned in towards him until their noses were almost touching. Her hand flashed, and the boy jerked back to see that she had retrieved a knife from the chopping block.
“We’ll need one of these, you know?” she said. She paused and arched an eyebrow. “Oh, were you hoping for something else, perhaps?”
Blood rushed to Elverad’s face. The boy had never felt a greater fool and angrily tightened the straps on the haversack before storming towards the door.
“Oh come now,” Teo laughed. “Can’t you take a little teasing? Where is your sense of humour?”
Elverad burst out of the front door with Teo hot on his heels. He made it less than ten paces down the street before coming to an abrupt halt.
“Did you forget something?” she asked.
“You need to lock up,” he growled. “Can’t leave the place unlocked and unattended now, can we?”
“I suppose,” Teo allowed. She grabbed Elverad by the arm and her eyes turned liquid as she looked up at him. “You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
The boy felt something stir within him, but the wound from earlier was still fresh, and he quickly came to his senses. “It’s only ten paces away.”
The girl broke into a mischievous grin. “I almost had you again there, didn’t I?”
“Just go,” he snapped.
While Teo hurried back to lock the door, Elverad spotted Tanbor’s immense bulk waddling down the street towards him. He pulled his hat low over his face and looked away, but it was to no avail.
“Elverad lad, good afternoon!” he called.
Elverad suppressed a sigh before answering. “Good afternoon, Mister Tanbor! Cold day, isn’t it?”
“It’s downright frigid!” the butcher laughed. He looked up and down the street before leaning in. “I came by earlier to have a chat with Old Vermand, but he didn’t answer the door. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him, have you?”
“He only came to the door to say he was feeling ill and sent us away,” Teo said, catching both men off guard with her sudden appearance.
“Oh,” Tanbor blinked. “I don’t suppose you know if the Hog’s Head will be open tonight, do you?”
Teo shrugged. “He didn’t say, but I think odds are it won’t be.”
“How unusual,” the butcher breathed.
“It is indeed,” Teo agreed. “But he had a big day yesterday, what with the visitor and the busy night that followed.”
“I suppose that’s true…” Tanbor allowed.
“Could you help us spread the word?” Teo asked. “It’s rare for us to have a day off, and I’d like to take the opportunity to bring Elverad here to see my parents.”
Tanbor blinked in surprise. “I didn’t think the two of you were…”
“Oh don’t misunderstand,” Teo said, punctuating her sentence with a giggle. “I’m introducing him as a colleague, nothing more.”
“Ah, I see,” Tanbor nodded and licked his lips as though they were parched. “I suppose I could in exchange for…”
“Your first round when we reopen tomorrow will be on Elverad here,” Teo beamed, slapping the boy on the shoulder.
The boy’s protests were nipped in the bud when Teo pinched him hard in the side. The boy forced a smile, and Tanbor laughed.
“I accept your generous offer!” he laughed before tugging the brim of his hat. “I bid you good day.”
The old butcher paused before turning to Elverad and gave him a cheeky wink before ruffling his hair. “And I bid you good luck, young man.”
The pair waved at the old butcher as he waddled down the street. When he disappeared into a nearby business, Elverad whirled onto Teo. “I can’t believe you!”
“What’s the matter?” she asked, looking genuinely surprised.
“You lie as naturally as you breathe!” Elverad exclaimed. “What was all that about?”
“A diversion,” Teo replied with a straight face. “Now that incorrigible old gossip is going to be more concerned with earning a free round instead of digging around why the Hog’s Head is closed for the first time since Vermand took over.”
Elverad blinked. His colleague had a point. Ordinarily, the old man would have had a mountain of questions for them about what Vermand was up to and why they were leaving while he was indisposed.
“I can’t believe you lived off the streets for years without being able to lie,” Teo remarked.
“We’d better get going,” Elverad suggested and set off in the direction of the only road out of town. He paused and turned to Teo. “Wait, you weren’t lying when you said you knew the way Lucentum, were you?”
Teo fluttered her eyelashes at him and smiled warmly. “Oh, I would never lie to you. Come along now, follow me.”