59. The Departure
The Departure
The two of them rode out a week later, after taking time to recover.
In that time, they paid for Gerald to fix their armor, and when they left, they were once more clad in the black and yellow they had come in.
They were less boisterous than when they had arrived, but neither one gave any indication that they would be giving up their life of war and battle.
Kain wasn't particularly bothered by that fact.
It wasn't his life to live. He did hope that the two of them would get some more sense.
He also hoped that the next warriors to come through would have more sense as well.
The next day Kain helped patch the chair the man had broken and scrubbed the last of the blood out of the floor of the cheapest room in the Kettle. When the chair stood square and the boards were clean he rode home and went back to the work.
The farm hadn't suffered in the time, but there was certainly work to be done.
There were only a handful of crops left to harvest, including the now-large white pumpkin.
Kain left that one on the vine, though he did heap a layer of straw underneath of it, and then threw himself into the work of harvesting the last of the goods from his garden.
There wasn't much left. Tomatoes, a bit of late-season corn that he had planted, and some beans. The whole harvest fit in the collection box, and he left it to be collected.
The next morning, he found the box empty and a deposit of money waiting on him, and he carefully measured it out.
With that, he took it back into the house and set it on the table, then drew out his small sack of money that he had been saving. It all clinked loudly as he poured it out, and with that, he started to count.
"Let's start with the silver," he said.
He had saved all the money from the gryphon kill, thirty silver in all.
Quickly, he counted out those thirty coins and set them aside, then started counting out the remaining coppers and silvers that he had collected from various harvests and sales.
The herbs had brought him a total of ten silver.
The potatoes had brought him another five silver total.
The onions had brought in three. Then, between everything else, he managed to count out just enough copper to cover the difference.
"And there we have it." He nodded, looking at the pile. "Fifty silver. As agreed."
「Balance: 50s 56c → 56c」
「Debt: Will Martinson 50s → 0」
「Outstanding Debt: None」
The fall wasn't over yet, but it was getting on. Quickly, he scooped the money into the sack, tied it shut, and hooked it on his belt. The remaining money, 56 copper in all, he scooped into a small box and put it up in his pantry.
That done, he once more set out for town.
He climbed up onto Roan and rode up through Tillamore.
As the fall was coming on, the leaves had begun to change, giving him a riot of color and light as he passed beneath shadows and rode through the orange and red dappled light.
As he neared the Martinson farm on the other side of the town, he saw Carol working in the pens, and Will Martinson working on putting new siding on the house.
Kain rode up and swung down, then walked over.
"Here," Kain knelt down and took hold of the piece of siding that Will had been working on. "I've got that."
Will nodded and let go, picked up the hammer, and soon had it in place. He rose and stretched, and Kain stood as well.
"Thanks. That board has been loose for a while, but I keep finding one reason or another to put it off," Will set the hammer down. "What can I do for you?"
"It's what I can do for you." Kain took the bag off his belt and handed it across. "Fifty silver. As discussed."
"All fifty?" Will asked, raising his eyebrow.
"As discussed," Kain nodded. "It should be correct, down to the copper. Just let me know if I miscounted. If I did, I didn't mean to."
Will nodded and set the sack aside. He would count it later. He didn't operate in a manner where one's integrity would be questioned in front of them. Slowly, he crossed his arms.
"Well, what do you think of the coming winter?" Will asked.
"I don't know what to think of it," Kain said. "Jeremiah is always giving me some axiom or another about the shape of moss or the direction that the wind is blowing, but I can't tell how much of it is real and how much is just him blowing smoke."
"If it's Jeremiah, always double-check it before you believe it." Will cracked a small smile. "At least where it comes to the weather. He'll claim he can tell you the exact moment it's going to start raining, but I've never once seen him be right."
"He can get storms a few days out," Kain shrugged. "Anyway, though, I haven't seen anything about the coming winter. You thinking it'll be a harsh one, or a mild one?"
"Right now, I'd lay my money on milder than last year," Will answered. "Could be wrong, but the migratory birds are all moving a lot later than usual. That means it's warmer down south, and a lot of our weather comes from down south."
"I'll make a note of it and see if you're right," Kain said.
"Well, I'll be more correct than you are," Will pointed out. "What do you do for food over the winter?"
"Hunting. Fishing. Carol has been helping me preserve some food," Kain said. The words were out before he had a beat to weigh them. Will's jaw tightened at the corner. He didn't say anything. The conversation was done.
"I see."
"Anyway." Kain paused and pressed forward. "I'll survive. Can't say that I'll be eating high on the hog, but I'll survive."
"You know," Will spoke up, changing the conversation. "I saw two more warriors just yesterday. Armed to the teeth."
"Really?" Kain asked. "I haven't heard anything about more of them."
"I don't think they spent much time in the village. Which means that they aren't registered, and didn't sign that fool code of conduct thing that Sam is so proud of." Will shrugged. "Anyway, they were on foot, and they were looking at my horses."
"They're not here for horses," Kain shook his head.
"They're here because of you."
The words emerged quickly, and Kain saw the man's muscles were tense. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look happy either. His eyes were narrow and focused. He glanced at Kain, and Kain shrugged.
"They're just here for the dungeon."
"That's what I said."
Kain set his jaw. The conversation wasn't going to go many more places.
Will didn't like him, or at least didn't approve of how much time he was spending around Carol.
Or at least didn't approve of his general presence around town.
Possibly more than one of the above. Kain didn't know, and he frankly didn't care. He wasn't in Tillamore to impress.
He nodded to Will, then swung back up onto Roan.
"Thanks for the horse. He's a good animal, and I expect he'll serve me well in the years to come."
"You paid for it. All I did was sell him." Will shrugged. "Now, unless you want to hold more siding, I suggest you get moving."
Kain turned and rode off down the drive, coming up to the main road. As he approached, he saw Carol coming over through one of the pens, and he slowed. Soon, he drew up next to her, and she climbed one of the fence rails and perched on top of it, looking at him.
"Well, now the horse that you raised is officially, entirely mine," Kain patted Roan's neck. Carol gave him a quiet smile, though her eyes seemed to water. "Thanks for raising him well. And don't worry, I make sure to cut up his apples."
Carol nodded. She opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again. Kain waited an instant longer, then nudged Roan forward.
"Well, I'll be seeing you."
"Wait." Carol blurted out. Kain drew up short, and she paused for a long moment. Finally, she seemed to gather the courage she was waiting for. "Kain."
"Yes?" Kain asked.
"You're always leaving." She lifted her gaze and met his. "You come here. You're always leaving." Her eyes traced northward to the dungeon and back to him.
"I always come back."
She opened her mouth. A word seemed to form. The word held on her lips a long moment. She swallowed it back down.
"I know you do," she said.
Kain's pulse picked up. He held her gaze, and she held his. He would have stayed there longer, but he could feel Will's eyes on the back of his skull, and with that, he rode off down the road. The hooves of the horse clopped down the cobbles, and he vanished off down through Tillamore.
All told, the ride between his own farm and the Martinson farm was about a mile long, and as the fall continued onward, it was lined with trees covered in striking leaves of red and gold and yellow. A few of them fluttered down around him as he went onward, but he hardly noticed them at all.
All he could think about was the word she hadn't said.