Page 31 of Quest of Fools

Warf ached to see his daughters.Did they miss him?Had they grown accustomed to his absence?Would they even remember him when he'd been gone so long?How many of their precious firsts would he miss?It was just one more thing for which he deeply resented the horrid woman ruining all their lives.When he finally caught up to her, he would knock her flat and leave her where she fell.Which would hopefully be in a deep drift of snow where she froze to death.

Setting the vindictive thoughts aside, he focused on building up the fire while Viletti prepared dinner and Kaltin rested his poor leg.They'd ridden hard all day, including forwarding a river when the bridge had proven to be impassable.He had a sneaking suspicion, from the newness of the damage, that a certain noblewoman was behind its destruction.How, though?She had only one servant with her and Marian to keep an eye on, and he highly doubted she would dirty her own hands with actual work.

"Are you thinking about the bridge too?"Kaltin asked.

Warf smiled faintly."How did you guess?"

"It's what we're all thinking," Viletti said."How'd a woman like that destroy an entire bridge?It's too much that it just happened to be destroyed after she crossed it.She must have secured more help somewhere.Bad for us, but what can we do?"

"The destination hasn't changed.That's all that really matters.I don't think anyone she's hired will be willing to commit murder over this.Not worth it."

"Let's hope that's true," Warf said, brushing his hands off as he finished with the fire.Viletti took over then, cooking up some of the venison she'd caught earlier that day, and preparing the rest to smoke overnight so they could take it with them.

Warf sat next to Kaltin, who was stretched out on the ground using his pack to rest his head, fingers tangled together on his stomach.He took a deep pull on his water and sighed as he set it aside."How do people spend their lives traveling this way?I miss sleeping in a good bed and having food never farther than down the street."

"Some people just aren't good at holding still," Viletti said."My sister is one of them.Took off when she was fifteen, and we see her once every few years.She'll probably die of old age wandering a forest or crossing the ocean again, and that would be what she wants.I'm with you, though.A warm bed every night and food I don't have to cook readily available."

Kaltin smiled, opening his eyes and staring up at the sky."Agreed.Some things are simply priceless.She never understood that.When she sent me to make you that offer to walk away, I told her to offer way more money.She insisted you would take it because 'your kind' are always happy with whatever money they can get without having to work for it."

Viletti snorted so loudly she startled some nearby birds."That's rich coming from someone who was born to every luxury and comfort and had to work for none of them.All anyone in Low City does is toil, toil, and toil some more."She quirked a brow at Warf."Whatdidshe offer you?"

"Ten thousand at first, then increased to fifteen."

"I had permission to go up to twenty, but that was it," Kaltin said."I told her it was insultingly low, but she just wouldn't hear it.Finally slapped me and told me to do what I was told.So I did."He sighed."People like her never understand."

No, they never did.They assumed everyone wanted the same things they did, which was more and more and more.It was what the money couldprovidethat mattered, though, not the money in and of itself.Stability.Warmth.Food.Chances for education and other opportunities.Even twenty thousand marks would not have given him all that Marian already had by this point.

Also, he wantedMarian.He didn't care if they'd only just met.

"Food should be ready in just a bit," Viletti said."I'm going to go wash up."

Warf moved a bit closer to the fire so he could move faster if something went wrong, though that was highly unlikely.Situations like this, the wind was the biggest enemy, as it could carry sparks to places no one could reach.Thankfully, it was so cold and wet lately, that was unlikely to be a problem."Do you know what you're going to do when we get home?"

Kaltin laughed faintly."No idea.Right now I'm focused on rescuing Lord Marian and healing my arm and leg.I'll worry about the rest when I come to it.Don't cross a bridge before you reach it, that's what the cook, Esta, was always saying.Wonder what will happen to her and the rest of the staff if Lady Clarkson is arrested or… worse."

"As much as I loathe the woman, I'm not looking for anyone to die," Warf replied."I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"Me too," Kaltin said quietly."I just don't know with her, anymore, though.It's like she's become a different person than the one who first helped a little homeless boy.Hard to see your hero become the villain."He sighed."Or maybe she was all along and I was too blind to see it."

Warf turned the roasting meat and checked on the tubers they'd settled in the coals to cook."When I was a boy, there was an old man who lived in the house behind ours.He was nice as could be, always let us have the end pieces of his loaves of bread.Over time, though, he got increasingly cranky, and then rather mean, and then outright hostile, like we were all out to get him.They say he went mad and that madness came out as anger.When he died, his body predictably found its way to Tanning Row."

Viletti frowned."I don't know what that means."

"Lucky you," Kaltin muttered.

Viletti's brows rose."I hope it doesn't mean someone is turning human skin into leather goods."

Warf laughed, loud and long, sending birds and critters scattering deeper into the woods."No, though honestly I wouldn't put it past some of them, they're that willing to do anything for coin.There's a couple of brothers, and back then it was their father, who will pay for cadavers no questions asked.Rumor has it they like to study the bodies, conduct experiments on them.Anyway, after the old man died, his daughters sold his body to them, and rumors went around that some strange mass had been found in his brain.No idea if it's true, but what if it was?Surely something like that would affect you, even to the point of changing you."

"Makes sense.So you're saying maybe something like that is wrong with Lady Clarkson?"He sighed."I don't know if that makes everything better or worse."

"I think sometimes things simply are awful no matter the why and how.Makes no never mind anyway, in the end.She's done things she can't undo, and she'll have to answer for them."

Kaltin sighed softly, a sad, soundless agreement.He then pushed himself up, working slowly, waving off Warf when he moved to help."Having a broken arm and a bad leg at the same time is miserable.I do not recommend it."

"You'd be healing better if you'd stayed put like we said."

"I wasn't going to sit around doing nothing, putting out a bunch of strangers, while you went off to fix a problem I helped cause."

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