Page 5 of Garlands and Gauntlets

“Were you even a scout?”

“Yes, I was a Pathfinder in the Burrow Scouts, thank you very much,” I say quickly. “The point is, I’m offering you help. Take it or leave it.”

Theo hesitates for another moment.

Then he sticks his hand out. “Alright. Deal.”

I clasp his hand, wincing a little as his grip nearly crushes mine. “Great. Let’s get started.”

Chapter three

Theo

Vaelin’s faster than Igave him credit for as he leads me through the alleys of Hearthwynd, quiet on his feet. I lumber along behind him, feeling clumsy in comparison, my breath too loud and my footsteps too heavy.

I’m not sure if trusting him was a mistake yet, but I don’t exactly have better options. Hearthwynd seems enormous, its twisting streets making me lose track of where we started. The only landmarks are the lanterns overhead, glowing in the falling snow.

“Are we already going to meet your contact?” I ask, suddenly nervous. I’ve never actually met another orc before–there aren’ttoo many of them in the region, mostly confined to their fortresses in the mountains.

“There’s a corner around here where he hangs out sometimes,” Vaelin says–which makes it sound like this guy isn’t sketchyat all. “If we can’t find him there, I’ll have to get someone to deliver him a message.”

I frown. “This…feels like a lot of trouble given you’re doing it for free.”

“Hey, you’re going to owe me a favor, remember?” He throws a smile over his shoulder. “Now…let’s see…”

We pop out of an alley and into a crowded intersection, people moving into and out of buildings, down other alleys. This isn’t like the Market Square, where everything was festive for Yuletide; here, I’m able to see the squalor my father always warned me about. I’m starting to get a little nervous when Vaelin vanishes into the crowd and I stop dead in my tracks.

“Vaelin?” I call.

Then a sharp shout cuts through the air, followed by the sound of something breaking.

My eyes find the source in seconds: a woman and a young boy standing outside a shop, their arms full of firewood. It looks like the boy has dropped some of his wood and broken something outside the shop. A man–broad-shouldered, red-faced, and angry–looms over them.

“You little shit!” he shouts. “You’ll pay for that…”

I move toward them instinctively, only to find Vaelin grasping my forearm. “Don’t,” Vaelin said. “It’s not our problem.”

“But they look like they need help.”

“They look liketrouble,” Vaelin mutters. “Trust me, you don’t want to get involved.”

I shake him off, my jaw tightening. “I can’t just walk away.”

“You really can,” he starts. “Theo, you need to–”

But he trails off as I pull my arm away to walk toward the shop.

The shopkeeper’s glare drifts over to me as I approach, people scrambling out of my way. Now that I’m moving with purpose, I’m too big to be ignored–and the shopkeeper’s eyes go wide as he takes in the sight of me, seven feet of green muscle and wild red hair. His jaw drops, his head shaking like he can’t believe it. “What do you want?”

I can hear the disdain in his voice; he looks at me and all he sees is an orc, a monster. I stifle the sting of that look, push it aside. “Is there a problem here?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.

He frowns–clearly having expected me to get aggressive–and gestures at the woman and her son. “These two broke some ofmy merchandise on their way through,” he says, jabbing a finger at them. “They owe me for what they destroyed.”

The woman steps up, her face pale, voice trembling. “Please, it was an accident,” she says. “We spent the last of our money on wood for the fire, but I swear I’ll pay you…”

“Quiet!” the shopkeeper snaps.

The boy hides behind his mother, starting to cry. My chest tightens, and before I can think better of it, I step between them and the shopkeeper.

---