Silas looked to the party members who were sitting either beside him at the front of the wagon, or at the back. The sacks of salt -- dozens of them -- were covered underneath a heavy burlap tarp. “The stables’ll be out back. While I’m not expecting any trouble here, I still think it would be wise to take turns standing watch by the wagon -- that salt’s worth a lot in these parts. Better safe than sorry. And guarding the cargo is what I hired you for. Any volunteers for first watch?”
Akiro, who loved the company of animals as much as Shalora did, nodded silently his agreement to stand first watch over the wagon and the beasts in the inn's stable yard, out of sight of the garrison.
A slim Taldan woman of maybe 40 winters, who introduced herself as Talia Orem, stepped out from the kitchen to welcome the newcomers to the Inn of the Wise Piper. She was clad in a sky blue apron with a long-tailed bird stitched in silver thread on her left breast. Black hair peeked out from under her rainbow-coloured shawl. The party not only smelled fresh bread now, but some kind of stew simmering, as well.
Talia Orem, Innkeeper, Inn of the Wise Piper
Talia was particularly happy to welcome followers of The Eternal Rose, proclaiming that she and many other locals revered Shelyn, the lady of love and beauty. Indeed, she had the goddess' emblem embroidered on her apron.
The innkeeper sent her son, Patricio, to care for the horses and pony, and invited the party to sit where they wanted. A table by the fireplace looked particularly inviting, but Silas insisted the group sit by a window that gave a view over the stable yards. He let Talia take his cloak to dry by the fire, but kept his chain shirt on, his rapier and dagger in their sheaths, and an unloaded crossbow and his pack close at hand.
Talia brought the party hearty lamb stew with cranberries and dumplings in fresh trenchers, with mulled wine to wash it down. Silas asked how much everything would cost before she brought out the meals, evidently concerned about his ability to pay. The four were soon absorbed in the meal, the best they'd had in a long time.
A few moments later, unbeknownst to those inside the inn, six men and one woman, all heavily armed and armoured, casually walked into the yard and made their way toward the stables. Four of the men and the woman were clad in scale mail and had bucklers strapped to their wrists, while the man who led them was clad in half-plate and carried a steel shield on his back. All save the man in half-plate wore open faced helms, and all wore dark blue tabards over their armour, which featured a white tower and green laurels emblazoned in a shield on a striped yellow and black field. All had long blades and daggers hanging from their belts, all still sheathed.
The man in half-plate approached Akiro. He was a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and neatly trimmed beard. He stopped a few paces from Akiro, hands on his hips.
Sir Pelle Benhovy, Sheriff of Belhaim
The man introduced himself as Sir Pelle Benhovy, Sheriff of Belhaim, and the five others as his deputies. The Sheriff and the deputy kept their weapons sheathed as Sir Benhovy "welcomed" Akiro to Belhaim and began to interrogate him, gazing intently at the strange Tian warrior. Sir Benhovy asked Akiro where he and his companions had come from, what cargo they were transporting, did he see the cargo with his own eyes, and would he mind if his men inspected the cargo? The mute's gestured, often uncertain or incomprehensible replies soon began to frustrate the Sheriff, who then produced and unrolled a scroll that portrayed a likeness of Silas Gribb, and indicated that he was "Wanted by the River Guard for Smuggling and Treason." He then asked Akiro whether Silas Gribb could be found in the inn, and suggested that Akiro and his companions might be let off with a warning if they assisted, or at the very least did not interfere, in Gribb's capture if he was indeed in the inn. Akiro shrugged again uncertainly.
The Sheriff instructed two of his deputies to keep an eye on Akiro, who stood inside the stables by Sparkles, while he strode toward the inn and instructed others to search the wagon that was parked outside the stables. Akiro blew on his whistle to warn the others of trouble, and held his glaive defensively, while Patricio the stable boy went and hid in a stall. The two deputies assigned to Akiro looked at him nervously, but kept their hands on the hilt of their sheathed swords. They did not seem eager to fight. Shalora saw the whole scene unfold through the eyes of Mischief, who also sheltered from the rain in the stable with Sparkles. Silas and his escort had been momentarily distracted by their delightful meal and had not been looking out the window.
When Silas finally did look, he cursed, mumbled something about "corrupt town guards trying to steal his salt," then began to chant a series of incantations. The first resulted in his face morphing into that of one of the men at the nearby table. Those men immediately rose, shocked and frightened by what they had just witnessed. "Marvon," one of them cried out, "he stole your face!" Iacobus rose and drew his falcata, but recognized the second incantation Silas was mouthing as some sort of charm spell. Iacobus readied a spell of his own, and indicated that he would be ready to discharge it at Silas's command. Shalora began to move chairs and tables, concerned that a battle could cause significant damage to the furniture. Jiri took a few steps back, positioning himself so as to defend the other inn patrons from any violence that might erupt. Although the party had seen and heard Silas singing and playing his lute during their travels, they had not yet witnessed him casting any magic. And while he had generally been kind and sociable toward his escort, Jiri had become increasingly suspicious of the merchant since they had entered Belhaim and he had appeared nervous about his wagon being seen by the local authorities.
Sir Benhovy entered the common room through the back door of the inn. He unrolled the scroll again and reiterated what he had told Akiro outside moments before--that he was looking for a man known as Silas Gribb, wanted by the River Guard for smuggling and treason. As he gazed at those assembled in the inn, Talia hid in the kitchen and the six men behind Jiri started running out the front door of the inn, repeating that "he stole Marvon's face!" The Sheriff immediately saw through the glamour and recognized Gribb.
Outside, guards were dumping sacks of salt, and in many they found tightly wrapped cloth bundles within. Akiro and Mischief watched intently as the guards unfolded the bundles and found weapons within them -- primarily swords, axes and daggers. "Sheriff, there are Maheto blades hidden in the salt sacks!" called out one of the deputies--high quality arms forged by the dwarves of Maheto.
The Sheriff, who still had not drawn his weapon and seemed intend on resolving the situation without blood shed, called on Shalora, Jiri and Iacobus to help him apprehend Gribb. He said that they were not wanted by the authorities, at this point, and that he understood that a few vagabonds may have unwittingly been duped by Gribb into guarding his smuggled cargo. He would let them go with a stern warning if they cooperated.
Silas drew his rapier and ordered his employees to defend him against the thieves of the town watch, who were threatening to steal his cargo. Jiri moved to block his escape. Moment by moment, the tension mounted. Iacobus asked about the charges of treason. The Sheriff replied that Gribb was accused of smuggling weapons to Galtan exiles living in the northern portion of the Verduran Forest, and that those exiles engaged in banditry against Taldans and even fomented revolution against Grand Prince Stavian III. Iacobus hesitated to unleash the spell he had readied, but seeing that Gribb was behaving more aggressively than the Sheriff, Shalora cast a sleep spell between the two men, to which only Gribb succumbed.
The Sheriff and his deputies quickly bound Gribb and secured all his belongings, the wagon, draft horses, and cargo. “I don’t know if it’s a sense of justice that motivated you to help us, or a desire to save your own skins, but I’d say you’ve redeemed yourselves somewhat, for the time being," said Sir Benhovy. "I’ll advise you to stay out of trouble and to be more careful when selecting your next employer... And I guess it should be a lesson well-learned, since I must confiscate all of Mr. Gribbs’ cargo and belongings.”
“Mr. Gribb’s personal belongings, contraband and cargo now belong to the Crown," explained Sir Benhovy to those who remained. "If you wish to make a claim for wages owed, you’ll need to petition Governor Bozbeyli in Cassomir. I don’t expect Mr. Gribbs‘ trial will be heard for a while.” The only thing of Gribb's that the town watch left behind was his ratty old cloak that had been left to dry by the fireplace.
She took pity on the companions for having been abandoned far from home on a rainy day, with their wages unpaid. She offered to give them food and accommodation, hot baths even, for the next two nights, to help them get back on their feet while they pondered their next move, which everyone graciously accepted.
Early in the afternoon, they saw Sheriff Benhovy and some of his deputies taking Silas Gribb and his wagon out of town, heading south.
What would the unlikely companions do next?
And what lead the Sheriff to believe that Silas Gribb was going to pass through Belhaim when he did?
The companions rested in the inn for the remainder of the day and took advantage of the warm baths and even free laundry service offered by Talia and her family, who ran the inn together. Later, Iacobus locked himself in his room to study his book that night, grumpily seeking to avoid the common room banter and distracting, gay songs that Shalora and Akiro played for some curious locals. Jiri looked on, trying to read everyone…
What next, indeed?
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