Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) by Honor Raconteur Page A

exactly
what they were looking for. “Now, as ye be hunting, keep an eye out for these.”
Kneeling, she lifted one of the stalks with a gentle hand. The dark green, wide
leaves were easily discernable in the brush. It didn’t look like any other
frond or plant in this forest, which was why it had been so easy for her to
spot. “These be potatoes.”
    Carhart and Roskin both looked clueless but Weston and Orba
perked up with interest.
    “Come again?” Roskin asked, puzzled.
    “Potatoes,” Weston repeated, already kneeling next to her
and working at the soil. “They’re a vegetable, and a good one. You can add it
into soups, bake it, fry it, or even eat it raw. It’s good for filling a man’s
stomach. I didn’t know they grow up here.”
    “No surprise,” Riana observed as much to herself as anyone
else, “as no one here knows a thing about them. Now, these be the ticket to
feeding people in the early spring, if we can find enough to plant. So keep a
sharp eye out for ’em. Dig ’em up careful-like and bring back what ye can
find.”
    Weston and Orba seemed content with a look, but then, they
were familiar with the plant already. Carhart and Roskin both broke off a part
of the stalk to take with them so that they had something to compare it to.
    Satisfied that part of her job was done, she pushed her way
up to her feet and turned back toward the forest. “Now. Follow me and I will
show ye what places seem the best for game.”
     

Chapter Ten
    Broden had a thief’s arm bent behind his back, face smashed up
against an unyielding wall, when heard Tant excitedly calling, “BRODEN!
SHERIFF!”
    “Mite busy here, Tant!” Broden called back, not looking away
from the thief in his grasp. This was a wily one. He had already spent three
hours chasing the man down and he was not going to repeat that helter-skelter
experience, thank ye very much.
    Ashlynn was the one that had her hands free, although they
were currently pressed up against her heart as she struggled to catch her
breath. “What is it, Tant?”
    Tant skidded to a stop, face flushed from his mad sprinting.
“I have good news and why aren’t you responding to your caller, Sheriff?”
    “Didn’t hear it,” she replied.
    Broden snorted. The callers were not that loud to begin
with, and if you were chasing after a criminal, the noise of the chase would
cover the caller completely. The twins had been tinkering with the callers for
weeks now and had figured out how to extend their reach, but not how to
increase the volume. Hopefully they hit a breakthrough soon.
    “Good news?” Ashlynn prompted.
    “A priest has arrived.”
    Broden’s and Ashlynn’s head snapped up and they demanded in
unison, “What?!”
    “A priest arrived, not ten minutes ago, at North Gate. He
said he’s here to be the priest for Estole if we need one.”
    There was no ‘if’ about it. Broden turned his head enough to
command, “Tant, come take this fool and do something about him.”
    Tant immediately laid hands on the man even as he asked,
“Crime?”
    “Theft. We be reporting the details later, but for now, lock
him up.”
    “Understood, sir. Come on, you.” With a firm grip on him,
Tant marched the thief away.
    Ashlynn was already striding for North Gate as fast as she
could, considering she was still winded and had a stitch in her side. “Why
would we suddenly get a priest now?”
    “Mayhap one developed a conscience?” Broden offered, keeping
pace with her easily. What with all of the chasing after criminals they’d done
in the past several months, Ashlynn’s stamina had improved, but he was able to
boast that his was still better. He took pride in that, considering he was
almost twice her age. “Edvard always said if we could find a priest that
revered their god more than their king, we would have one for Estole.”
    “And we all agreed, but we’ve been searching for months
without any luck and suddenly one arrives on our doorstep? I’m dying to