The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled by Daniel R. Marvello Page A
Authors: Daniel R. Marvello
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parties, and no fuss when the boy is found. He specifically requested that you not wear a Raven Company tabard," he added with a smirk.
Some of the men wore their black Raven Company tabard with pride, but Borlan felt the same way I did about them; we wished they weren't required attire for all official Raven Company postings. Lucky for me, a lot of the work I did required a low profile, so Borlan often exercised the Captain's Discretion clause of the tabard rule that allowed me to leave mine behind. The Customer Request clause was another such exception.
As much as I appreciated the reprieve, I still wondered why the search would be kept a secret. "Did he say why?"
Borlan shook his head. "No. I asked his messenger what he thought, and the man just said his master's wishes were made clear enough in the request and it wasn't his place to question them."
"Huh." I leaned over Borlan's desk and picked up the note. It didn't reveal anything Borlan hadn't already told me, except the client's name. "Are you familiar with this Jergen Overland fellow?"
"He's the owner of Overland Mercantile down in Delta." Borlan answered. "My cousin works for him down there. He never had much good to say about the man. Says he's a slave driver, but a good businessman."
"What do you think about this?" I asked him, putting the note back on his desk.
"Sounds like easy money to me," he said with a shrug. "You actually thinking of turning it down?"
"No. I'm just a little wary of people who seem to have more money than decency."
Borlan snorted. "I hear you, but don't worry about it. All you have to do is find this kid, and you'll be five crowns richer. Well, four anyway." Raven Company would get twenty percent for the referral.
I shook off my misgivings, took a deep breath, and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'll take it."
I thought about the time of day and the fact that a search for a missing person should get started as soon as possible, while the trail is still fresh. "I should probably try to get down there this afternoon. I'll have to ride hard to make it there with any light left in the day."
Borlan nodded. "Right." He looked at me seriously for a moment more, and then lowered his voice. "I said not to worry, but I think this job has an odd odor to it too. Keep your eyes open while you're down there in Delta."
I smiled at Borlan. "I'll do that. I know better than to ignore my instincts on these things, particularly when you share them."
Borlan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Good." He picked up a hunk of bread from his desk and waved it at me. "Now get out of here so I can finish my lunch."
I chuckled and headed for the basement door. I had some negotiating to do with Meldon before I rode out to see about finding a lost boy.
Chapter 9
I rode up to Overland Mercantile in the late afternoon. Patches' lower half was splattered with mud from our hurried journey down to Delta. His namesake knee markings were barely visible through the grime. The horse plodded slowly with his head down as we clopped up to the hitch rail at the front of the store, and he exhaled deeply when I finally dismounted.
Along the side of the building, two men were loading heavy sacks onto a large wagon that was hitched to a four-mule team. I waved in greeting and tied Patches to the railing before heading toward the store entrance.
The Overland Mercantile store was bigger than you would expect for a small town like Delta. The town of Delta was home to only about a hundred people, but the Overlands had taken advantage of their location near the head of East Teardrop River to become a commerce hub for the entire Lakewoods Province, which encompassed the northern-most territory of the Tanes Empire.
The store protruded from the front of a large warehouse. Behind the warehouse, a long dock extended out onto Teardrop Lake. The Overlands owned a small fleet of boats that moved goods across the lake when the weather was right, which shaved time off the long,
Some of the men wore their black Raven Company tabard with pride, but Borlan felt the same way I did about them; we wished they weren't required attire for all official Raven Company postings. Lucky for me, a lot of the work I did required a low profile, so Borlan often exercised the Captain's Discretion clause of the tabard rule that allowed me to leave mine behind. The Customer Request clause was another such exception.
As much as I appreciated the reprieve, I still wondered why the search would be kept a secret. "Did he say why?"
Borlan shook his head. "No. I asked his messenger what he thought, and the man just said his master's wishes were made clear enough in the request and it wasn't his place to question them."
"Huh." I leaned over Borlan's desk and picked up the note. It didn't reveal anything Borlan hadn't already told me, except the client's name. "Are you familiar with this Jergen Overland fellow?"
"He's the owner of Overland Mercantile down in Delta." Borlan answered. "My cousin works for him down there. He never had much good to say about the man. Says he's a slave driver, but a good businessman."
"What do you think about this?" I asked him, putting the note back on his desk.
"Sounds like easy money to me," he said with a shrug. "You actually thinking of turning it down?"
"No. I'm just a little wary of people who seem to have more money than decency."
Borlan snorted. "I hear you, but don't worry about it. All you have to do is find this kid, and you'll be five crowns richer. Well, four anyway." Raven Company would get twenty percent for the referral.
I shook off my misgivings, took a deep breath, and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'll take it."
I thought about the time of day and the fact that a search for a missing person should get started as soon as possible, while the trail is still fresh. "I should probably try to get down there this afternoon. I'll have to ride hard to make it there with any light left in the day."
Borlan nodded. "Right." He looked at me seriously for a moment more, and then lowered his voice. "I said not to worry, but I think this job has an odd odor to it too. Keep your eyes open while you're down there in Delta."
I smiled at Borlan. "I'll do that. I know better than to ignore my instincts on these things, particularly when you share them."
Borlan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Good." He picked up a hunk of bread from his desk and waved it at me. "Now get out of here so I can finish my lunch."
I chuckled and headed for the basement door. I had some negotiating to do with Meldon before I rode out to see about finding a lost boy.
Chapter 9
I rode up to Overland Mercantile in the late afternoon. Patches' lower half was splattered with mud from our hurried journey down to Delta. His namesake knee markings were barely visible through the grime. The horse plodded slowly with his head down as we clopped up to the hitch rail at the front of the store, and he exhaled deeply when I finally dismounted.
Along the side of the building, two men were loading heavy sacks onto a large wagon that was hitched to a four-mule team. I waved in greeting and tied Patches to the railing before heading toward the store entrance.
The Overland Mercantile store was bigger than you would expect for a small town like Delta. The town of Delta was home to only about a hundred people, but the Overlands had taken advantage of their location near the head of East Teardrop River to become a commerce hub for the entire Lakewoods Province, which encompassed the northern-most territory of the Tanes Empire.
The store protruded from the front of a large warehouse. Behind the warehouse, a long dock extended out onto Teardrop Lake. The Overlands owned a small fleet of boats that moved goods across the lake when the weather was right, which shaved time off the long,
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