Page 54 of Tusks & Saddles
Welborn weakly nodded.
“Secondly, you have to trust me. Explicitly. I’ve seen too many mercenaries and adventurers die because they didn’t trust each other. You don’t have to like me and we don’t have to get along, but when we’re out there, you have to trust me. You have to trustthat I have your back and I have to trust that you have mine. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Miss Eaves.”
“Great. Then I think there’s a good chance we’ll be able to get your missing cleric back. I’ll meet you for breakfast first thing in the morning. Make sure you’re prepared. We have to stop by a few places before we head out in the morning.”
Welborn nodded as Miss Eaves walked away. A sigh of relief was barely passing his teeth when she turned on her heel, standing in the middle of the doorway. Welborn stared, waiting for her to speak.
“Good boy,” she praised. “Night.”
He wasn’t certain how long he stared at the door once she had gone. However, Welborn did know that he needed to figure out a way to talk to his brother as soon as freaking possible.
Chapter Ten
Beatrix
Welborn was punctual.
Beatrix could give him that much as she descended the stairs. The cleric was seated at a table nearest to the bar. He looked exhausted, something Beatrix wrote off as his nerves. While she suspected he was more capable than his demeanor let on, Welborn was still a sheltered holy man in Beatrix’s eyes.
“Breakfast will be quick, then we head out,” Beatrix said upon meeting him.
A human woman brought them some simple porridge, which they both ate quietly. A fact that surprised Beatrix given how chatty Welborn had shown himself to be. With full stomachs, Beatrix dropped some silver onto the table and gestured for Welborn to follow.
In the early morning rays of the sun, Beatrix led Welborn into the dusty streets of Irongarde. Most of the denizens were pulling themselves off of porches after a night of revelry. The smell of freshly cooked eggs and bacon filled the air as cooks and barmaids began to prepare breakfast for folks just waking up. Iron workerscongregated near the water tower, loading up their belongings into a covered wagon as they set off for the mines.
“We’ll stop by a friend’s place before we go to the stables,” Beatrix said.
“You have friends, Miss Eaves?”
Beatrix smirked even as Welborn smacked a hand over his mouth. She wasn’t offended in the slightest but from the corner of her eye, he looked absolutely mortified.
“Yes, believe it or not I do,” she nearly teased. “This one in particular I happen to call friend because no one else in the entire region can do what he does.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Eaves, I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Saying what you mean is an important step toward trust, Welborn. I encourage you to do it as often as you can while we’re on this adventure together. It’ll help keep us alive.”
While it was true that Beatrix had insisted that Welborn should trust her, that didn’t mean that she was going to trust him. At least not entirely. She would trust that he would do as she said, and she would trust that he was mostly going to stay out of her way. But when it came to life or death situations, Beatrix preferred a different approach. A technique her father had taught her when she was very young.
Trust but verify.
Those words had gotten Beatrix‘s father through many years with little to no trouble. Although it could be taken as insulting, the concept had kept the new people around her father safe. Beatrix intended to do the same and that didn’t change just because shethought the cleric was a bit attractive. Those were dangerous thoughts that Beatrix buried as she briefly reflected on her family.
Melancholy surrounded Beatrix when she thought of her father as the pair left the main road and large crowds. Beatrix wasn’t sure why she was thinking of her family so much since she arrived in Irongarde, only that it was starting to become a bit of a habit. She was grateful that Welborn didn’t insist upon conversation as they walked. In some ways, it was better that Beatrix didn’t do business on the main road of Irongarde. Only a few people, including the Dust Wardens, had ever questioned her about her firearm. But that wasn’t to say that the locals were completely ignorant to what it was. Especially given that the city had one of the most brilliant tinkerers hiding within the bustling city limits.
To an outsider, the simple two-story building could have been mistaken for a warehouse. Although many people could technically classify it as such. Beatrix pulled the heavy wooden door, waving a hand over her shoulder for Welborn to follow her in. The interior of Kay’s workshop was as messy as Beatrix remembered it. Several long work tables that once upon a time had been tavern tables, took up most of the interior space.
There was metal—mostly iron—covering nearly every surface and the metallic flavor grew heavy on Beatrix’s tongue. While open, the interior was terribly cluttered with all manner of half built objects. A crossbow without a bow string, several pairs of massive gauntlets, and a large metal sphere, just to name a few. Large pains of glass lined the walls of the room, although there were no windows to look out of on this level of the building. Kay had boarded up the windows long ago. He didn’t care for prying eyes as his business was entirely his own.
“Exactly what is this place Miss Eaves?” Welborn asked as he plucked the metal sphere from the table.
“ A dangerous place, if you aren’tcareful,” Beatrix replied.
“That’s right! Keep your hands off the merchandise or be prepared to lose some fingers!”
Welborn jumped at the sudden appearance of Kay. The halfling man crawled out from underneath an adjacent table. His dark brown eyes looked glossy, and the head of thick, shoulder length black hair was a bit of a mess. As he got to his feet, Kay dusted his thick leather apron. He was wearing a pair of thick leather trousers—ideal when he needed to melt things down, or do anything with fire—and an oil smudged tunic. The oil looked like it had gotten everywhere, making it difficult to see the cultural tattoos that covered Kay’s arms. If Beatrix didn’t know better, she would suspect that he had fallen asleep under the table during the night
