The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled by Daniel R. Marvello
Authors: Daniel R. Marvello
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responsibilities for the inn and make more on the Raven Company contract than I'd spend paying him to get this work done. That train of thought raised a question.
"Why didn't Borlan give you the contract?" I asked him.
Meldon shrugged and hesitated before answering. "Well, he said it was the kind of work you're best at...and he didn't think I was ready to do the job by myself," he finished with a disappointed sigh.
Meldon had only been with Raven Company for a couple of months, and his inexperience limited the kind of work Borlan was willing to entrust to him. In the short time I'd known him, Meldon seemed eager and conscientious, but he was also reticent to engage in any kind of confrontation. That quality was the true source of Borlan's concerns about his potential effectiveness as a guard.
"Tell you what. I think we can make this work for both of us. I'll see what Borlan has, and if it works out, I'll hire you to take over for me here while I attend to the contract. How does that sound?"
"That'd be great, Mister Forester!" he said with vigorous nodding of his head and a wide grin.
I laughed and slapped him across his back. "Call me Jaylan. Now, let's go see what Borlan has for me."
As we walked out of the stable, I briefly considered changing out of my work clothes and telling Dela I'd be gone for a few minutes, but there seemed little point of doing either. I wasn't going to be meeting a client, so the clothes didn't matter, and telling Dela I was headed over to the Raven Company offices would just lead to another argument. I decided to save the argument for later, after I knew whether or not Borlan's contract would be worth it.
***
Borlan looked up from his lunch as Meldon and I walked into the front door of Raven Company. He wiped his mouth and glared. "I told you there was no rush!" he shouted at Meldon. He turned to me and spoke apologetically. "He didn't tell you to drop everything and run over here, did he?"
Meldon looked at me helplessly. I shook my head and chuckled. "Don't get yourself worked up, Borlan. I just happened to be at a good stopping point when Meldon showed up."
Borlan looked over at Meldon with chagrin. "Sorry about that, Meldon. Thanks for taking the message."
"Yes, sir. You're welcome sir. Should I go back to straightening up the armory?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Sorry, kid. Wish I had more work for you right now."
"That's alright sir. I'm sure things will pick up soon." Meldon hurried out of the room and headed for the basement door, which led down into the armory and the training area.
"He's a good kid. But I don't think his heart's in this work," Borlan said to me after he heard the door to the basement close.
"He might just need more experience to boost his confidence," I said.
"Maybe. You could take him on this job with you, if you don't mind sharing the fee with him," Borlan suggested.
"That's not a bad idea, but I may have a better use for him," I said.
Borlan looked at me in confusion. "What do you have in mind?"
I waved my hand and dodged his question. "It depends on this contract. What do you have?"
Borlan looked down at a message on his desk, and then back at me. "A teenage boy is missing down near Delta. He and some friends apparently went out into the forest last night. All the rest came back except this boy."
I frowned. "Why doesn't the father just go look for him?"
"The man apparently has more money than he has time to chase after a runaway son," Borlan reasoned. "Lucky for us."
"How much is he willing to pay?" I asked, my interest piqued.
"Five gold crowns. Two up front, three when you deliver the boy to the father." Borlan raised an eyebrow and watched for my reaction.
"That much?" I said in surprise. The sum was more than double what I had anticipated. Then I narrowed my eyes at Borlan. "What aren't you telling me?"
Borlan chuckled and nodded his head. "There is a bit of a catch. He wants the investigation kept quiet. No raising of alarms, no large search
"Why didn't Borlan give you the contract?" I asked him.
Meldon shrugged and hesitated before answering. "Well, he said it was the kind of work you're best at...and he didn't think I was ready to do the job by myself," he finished with a disappointed sigh.
Meldon had only been with Raven Company for a couple of months, and his inexperience limited the kind of work Borlan was willing to entrust to him. In the short time I'd known him, Meldon seemed eager and conscientious, but he was also reticent to engage in any kind of confrontation. That quality was the true source of Borlan's concerns about his potential effectiveness as a guard.
"Tell you what. I think we can make this work for both of us. I'll see what Borlan has, and if it works out, I'll hire you to take over for me here while I attend to the contract. How does that sound?"
"That'd be great, Mister Forester!" he said with vigorous nodding of his head and a wide grin.
I laughed and slapped him across his back. "Call me Jaylan. Now, let's go see what Borlan has for me."
As we walked out of the stable, I briefly considered changing out of my work clothes and telling Dela I'd be gone for a few minutes, but there seemed little point of doing either. I wasn't going to be meeting a client, so the clothes didn't matter, and telling Dela I was headed over to the Raven Company offices would just lead to another argument. I decided to save the argument for later, after I knew whether or not Borlan's contract would be worth it.
***
Borlan looked up from his lunch as Meldon and I walked into the front door of Raven Company. He wiped his mouth and glared. "I told you there was no rush!" he shouted at Meldon. He turned to me and spoke apologetically. "He didn't tell you to drop everything and run over here, did he?"
Meldon looked at me helplessly. I shook my head and chuckled. "Don't get yourself worked up, Borlan. I just happened to be at a good stopping point when Meldon showed up."
Borlan looked over at Meldon with chagrin. "Sorry about that, Meldon. Thanks for taking the message."
"Yes, sir. You're welcome sir. Should I go back to straightening up the armory?"
"Yeah, go ahead. Sorry, kid. Wish I had more work for you right now."
"That's alright sir. I'm sure things will pick up soon." Meldon hurried out of the room and headed for the basement door, which led down into the armory and the training area.
"He's a good kid. But I don't think his heart's in this work," Borlan said to me after he heard the door to the basement close.
"He might just need more experience to boost his confidence," I said.
"Maybe. You could take him on this job with you, if you don't mind sharing the fee with him," Borlan suggested.
"That's not a bad idea, but I may have a better use for him," I said.
Borlan looked at me in confusion. "What do you have in mind?"
I waved my hand and dodged his question. "It depends on this contract. What do you have?"
Borlan looked down at a message on his desk, and then back at me. "A teenage boy is missing down near Delta. He and some friends apparently went out into the forest last night. All the rest came back except this boy."
I frowned. "Why doesn't the father just go look for him?"
"The man apparently has more money than he has time to chase after a runaway son," Borlan reasoned. "Lucky for us."
"How much is he willing to pay?" I asked, my interest piqued.
"Five gold crowns. Two up front, three when you deliver the boy to the father." Borlan raised an eyebrow and watched for my reaction.
"That much?" I said in surprise. The sum was more than double what I had anticipated. Then I narrowed my eyes at Borlan. "What aren't you telling me?"
Borlan chuckled and nodded his head. "There is a bit of a catch. He wants the investigation kept quiet. No raising of alarms, no large search
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