Chapter 1: A Strange New World

I had turned eighteen a few months ago. I had blond hair and green eyes. I moved with what seemed an unnatural grace, (the result of almost twelve years studying the martial arts). I was considered a genius. At the age of twelve I had finished high school. I had started learning martial arts at six, mostly to protect myself from older boys.

My master was unusual in that he did not teach just one of the arts like karate but many in a blend that seemed to work well together. I also thought he differed from others because he often used a form of what he called Zen. Like, “Learn to see the leaves in the forest.”

When I had corrected him by saying, “you mean see the trees.”

He had smiled at me and told me, “anyone can see a tree.”

There were others “Smell the rose while standing in a pile of manure.”

“Hear the sound of a heartbeat in a crowd.”

Or, “Feel the face of an unborn child.”

I had thought they were just Zen sayings but knew better now. I had been given an amulet only that morning, it was a small bronze one with the symbols of yin and yang and it had a serpent around the edge, eating its own tail

The story begins

As I woke up I was a little disorientated. The last thing I remembered was the explosion. My parents and several of my friends, teachers and my martial arts master had been in the house talking. I remembered the car driving past me as I came back from the store.

As it had passed me, two boys had leaned out with guns pointed at my neighbor who had been in the front yard with a couple of his friends. When they had started shooting I remembered the ball of fire that had engulfed the house and reached out for me but everything else was blank.

I slowly sat up and looked around. I was sitting in the burned out remains of a house. I stood and made my way out of the rubble. The street in front was just as confusing. It was not my street but was full of people and it was cobbled and not paved. There were horses and wagons on the street and the people were dressed differently.

While I was trying to orientate myself there was a commotion moving up the street toward me. When I looked I saw six men knocking people out of the way for two riders that were following. I stepped to the side for them to pass but when one of the six got to where I was he tried to knock me to the side.

This was a mistake on his part, I stepped to the side grasped his arm as it came down and let the his momentum do the work. The result was the man ending up on his back in the gutter. It also cleared the street as the other five started for me. They were carrying what looked like clubs and two had spear type weapons that I thought I recognized as pikes from the middle ages.

When the next two reached me they did not even try to speak. The one on the left swung the pike back to strike me as the other held the club back. I stepped forward and with a front kick to the pike wielder’s chest, kicking him back. He went flying back across the street, hitting a wall and sliding down the wall to land in a heap.

As soon as I kicked the first man the other man had moved forward to strike me. I turned and grabbed the hand on the club as it was coming down. I twisted the arm and bent the wrist causing the man to drop the club and then I kicked him in the stomach. Releasing the hand I brought my right hand down in a hammer fist to the back of his head, knocking him out.

The first man was up and rushing me. I stepped to the side and tossed him into one of the other men coming at me. Stepping up to the two men still standing I grabbed the pike as it was thrust at me and side kicked the other man sending him down vomiting in the street.

I pulled the pike out of the surprised the man’s hands only to return the butt into his stomach making him double over before I pulled it back and brought it down on the back of his head. I stepped up to the two trying to untangle themselves and struck one on the temple and kicking the other in the head.

When I looked around all the people had moved back and the two men on horseback were looking at me. The one on the left turned to the other man, “It seems this peasant might need a lesson from his betters.”

I looked at him, he was dressed in fancy clothing compared to the people on the street with a sword that had a jewel-encrusted hilt. I shook my head, “You are not worth the trouble.”

Turning, I dropped the pike and walked up the street. I turned at the first intersection and ended up in a large square that was packed with people. There were stalls and people everywhere. I knew I had to find out where I was and what had happened to me. I felt someone approach me and reach into my pocket.

I grabbed the hand and looked into the face of a girl of about sixteen, (If it had not been for my senses I would have thought it was a younger boy.) A larger boy about ten feet away said in a loud voice, “What are you doing with my brother?”

As he said this the girl pulled a slim knife from her boot. I had turned but felt her pull the knife. As I looked at the older boy I turned the hand and twisted. Her arm straightened out with the hand bent backwards. She let out a yell and dropped the knife as the boy turned and ran into the crowd. I looked back at the girl, “Well girl, what do I do with you?”

There was a large man in what looked like a uniform heading through the crowd. The girl saw him and turned white, “You can have anything you want mister, only do not turn me in please.”

I nodded, “Do not run.”

I released her as the guard reached us. He looked at me, “Is there a problem?”

I looked back at him, “no.”

The guard looked at the girl but she only shook her head. Turning away with a grunt he waded back into the crowd. Looking around I saw a spot that was clear; it was by a tall wall. Placing my hand on her shoulder I walked her over to it, “First what is your name?”

She looked back at me and I could see her trying to think up something so I shook her. Startled she said, “Sam.”

“Well Sam, I need information. What is this place called? Tell me about it and take your time.”

She looked at me like I was crazy but when all I did was look back she started talking. The name of the city was Westford. It was named for the west most ford of the river ebb. It was also a major city on the trade route, which meant that the large trading companies ran it. Though there were nobles here they did not have a say in the running of the city unless they were part of one of the trading companies.

There were three races in the city, humans, elves and dwarves. Well, four if you counted the wizards. Right now the trading was very good. The Orcs and goblins had started another one of their wars to the east and most of the trade goods came through here.

I had a photographic memory, which was probably why I had graduated college at the age of sixteen. The names she was telling me seemed to be out of some book, Tolkien or one of the others. I was seriously thinking I may have been hit on the head harder then I thought. It was several minutes before I stopped her.

Apparently there was no one I could appeal to. That left how to make money so I could eat. My major had been in medicine, with several minors, one in chemistry, another in engineering and an associates degree in metallurgy. My skill in the martial arts was probably my only quick way to earn a living, perhaps as a mercenary. I looked at Sam, “You can leave.”

She was remembering my comment when I had caught her, “Well girl, what do I do with you?”

There would be no doubt that it would have been overheard. Those in the guild only sent girls to the cribs (Houses of prostitution) and there was no way she was going there. Sam looked around and then back at me, “What are you going to do?”

I thought about it and kept coming back to the fact that I had no money. When I looked at Sam it came to me, with my skills I would be a very good thief. I smiled, “Become a thief.”

She looked at me in disbelief. I looked around at the common marketplace and then back at Sam, “Where do the wealthy shop?”

She gestured and we set off. When we entered the other marketplace it was like night and day. There were four times the guards and it was not even half as crowded. I had Sam wait by the street leading into the square and calmly walked across. When I got to the other side I stopped at a food vendors stall and bought several rolls.

They were filled with sausage, cheese and cabbage. When I got back I smiled, “Where is a good place to stay?”

She thought about it, “It depends on how much you want to spend.”

I moved into a covered alley and handed her two of the rolls and started bringing out the small purses, twelve in all. Sam was shocked, she had not even seen them. I had her tell me the value of the coins. Copper was the cheapest then Bronze, Silver came next and Gold was last.

Remembering my encounter earlier I described the young noble to Sam. She nodded at my description, “Henry Shaffer. His father is part of a trade consortium.”

I nodded. “Do you know of somewhere close to where he lives that we could stay?”

Sam led the way and we ate the rolls as we walked. I could see the differences in the houses as we walked, there were walls around the houses now and a few guards walking the streets. When Sam stopped, it was in front of a large three-story house. The wall around it was twelve feet tall.

As we walked along the side of the estate I saw that the street along the side was only about fourteen feet wide. Along the side of the house and about half way down was a large tree inside the wall with limbs that reached toward the house. When Sam turned to the right she gestured, “That was the Shaffer house.”

Four houses down was an inn, it had a sign of a lion laying on it side, (The Fallen Lion.) A room and bath for the two of us cost two silvers, which I thought was expensive until Sam reminded me that you pay for where you sleep. Once we had seen the room, (it even had a lock.) I gestured at my clothes, “I need clothing.”

Sam shrugged and led me back to the street. While we were walking I looked at her, “Nothing too fancy, they only needed to be clean, comfortable and serviceable.”

She nodded and a little later we came to a small shop. It was on a small side street but looked like it saw regular business. I bought three changes of clothing and bought Sam a couple of sets as well. I even bought a pair of good used boots that had been resoled.

We made another stop at a shop that looked to me like it sold miscellaneous items. Sam showed me the eating utensils that I would need. I also bought a rope and large hooks that I would need for later. On our return to the inn I looked at Sam, “Are all the houses around this area of the city occupied?”

Sam looked at me and then led me to a large house on the next street over from the inn. Its walls were maybe seven feet tall. She looked at the walls, “The owners are only here in the winter.”

I looked around and when I saw no one watching I jumped, grabbed the wall and swung over. Once on the other side of the wall I looked around and then crossed to the gate and unbarred it and wedged the bar so it would not lock. Back on the street I closed the gate and then we returned to the inn. I led Sam to the room and sniffed at her rank smell, “We need baths.”

At first Sam was nervous about the bath until I sank down onto the floor with my legs crossed and asked if she would mind taking her bath first. The bath was a luxury for Sam but she did not want to get back into her dirty clothing so she picked up one of the newer sets I had purchased. I looked up at her and told her she might want to wear the darker set.

When she came back into the room I was still sitting on the floor with my legs crossed. After a minute she told me it was my turn for a bath. Saying this seemed to rouse me and I stood up as if I had just sat down. When I came back from the bath I felt refreshed. I looked at Sam, “why are you staying with me?”

She shrugged, “It will be safer.”

When I looked at her she sighed, “Now that they know I am a girl they will try to put me in a Crib.”

I let this sink in, I knew from my history that there were cultures that believed that was all a female was good for. I smiled at Sam, “Tonight we are going to break into the Shaffer house. I will go over the roofs and you will stay in the shadow along the street. I will send anything I find out to you.”

We went down to eat and there was a change in the innkeeper when he saw us wearing better clothing. While we ate I glanced at Sam, “Do you know of a place we could rent? Or better yet, a place that is in disrepair that we could fix up?”

After a few minutes she nodded, “I know of a place. It will need a lot of work though. It burned down two weeks ago.”

After we had eaten we took a walk. The house was above the river on a small estate. There was a short granite cliff before the river reached the ford. It was twenty feet above a small sandy beach. It had been a moderately large house with a stone stable that had not burned. There was also a fairly large blacksmith shop to the side that was not to badly damaged.

The road in front curved so that it ran next to the drop into the river. On the other side of the estate was another granite cliff that reached up sixty feet to a long burned out stone keep. As I looked through the rubble I found a small stream that came out of the rock and poured into what looked like a small pool.

We saw steam rising off the water and when Sam saw that she grinned, “It must have cost a small fortune.”

I looked at the small pool of warm water, “why?”

She smiled, “A mage has to open a fissure for the water. The stones in the column in the center of the small pool have fire elementals trapped in them.”

I was skeptical until I felt the water. The spring water had been cold but this was a warm pool. I could smell no sulfur in the water either. Sam looked around, “You can probably buy it for maybe five hundred gold pieces.”

Back at the inn Sam laid down in the bed with me but seemed to be watching me to see if I was going to try something. I woke at midnight, at first I did not move. I was still in the bed at the inn, so much for a bad dream.

Moving off the bed I woke Sam and collected the things I would need. Taking the rope I opened the window and looked around and then lowered Sam to the ground. Once she was on the ground she untied the rope and faded into the shadows. I pulled it up and coiled it around my waist. I reached out and got a hold on an overhead beam at the edge of the roof. Once I was out I closed the window and then pulled myself up onto the roof.

I slowly made my way up to the crown of the roof. When I reached the edge of the roof there was a gap of about twelve feet to the next house. With three running steps I made a leap. I landed without a sound on the next roof. I knew Sam had been watching and was moving on. I repeated this until I came to the street where Shaffer lived. I bent over the edge of the roof and screwed the eye hook I had bought into the beam. I tied the rope to it and dropped it.

Standing, I looked down on the wall. Here and there was broken glass but the area I wanted was clear. This time when I made my leap I landed on the top of the wall. Sam appeared out of the shadows and grabbed the rope and crossed to the wall. She tossed it up to me in one throw and then disappeared back into shadows.

Leaving slack in the rope I made a small jump onto a large tree limb and then worked my way up to the edge of the house. I was at the level of the second floor, looking up I saw the vent going into the attic. Using the gaps in the stones I easily climbed up to the vent and after a minute I worked the vent open. Once it was open I climbed in and attached the second hook into the center beam of the attic.

After tying the rope to the hook I started looking around. I found several large piles of black velvet curtains and could think of another use for the material. I made a bundle and tied the knot on the rope. I looked out and after a minute heard Sam whisper, “Clear.”

She had been doubtful when I had explained this earlier but had agreed to try my way first. I released the curtains and they started sliding along the rope dropping as they went. I helped this even more after they cleared the wall by putting more slack in the rope. When they were almost touching the street Sam appeared to catch them. At first she just looked back up at me but when I waved her off she untied the bundle then disappeared.

Without waiting I tightened the rope and than moved to the access door leading down into the house. I listened and when I was sure it was clear, opened the door. The hallway was dark but I could faintly hear the sounds of sleeping people in the rooms on both sides of the hall. The rooms here were the servants rooms, what I wanted was on the next floor down.

When I found the hidden stairway for the servants, I went down. There were only a few rooms here and no guards. After three empty rooms I slowly opened the door into the forth room and found the young man from my encounter the day before. He was sleeping in a large bed and I moved to the side of the bed.

I picked up his sword with the gems in the pummel. I put the belt over my shoulder and moved to the table to the side of the room. The young man’s purse was there and it seemed to be very fat indeed. After putting it in my pocket I started to turn away. When I did I saw a small chest in what looked like an armoire.

I opened it and saw another small chest. The first chest I opened held jewelry. I opened the next and found it was half full of coins of all types, mostly gold and silver. Placing one on top of the other I left and made my way back up to the attic and wrapped it all in another curtain. When I looked out Sam whispered right away.

Tying the curtain to the rope I let it go. When Sam caught it this time she had to struggle a little to untie the knot. After she had left I went back downstairs to the last room. This room was larger and there was an older man in the bed with what looked like a young boy and I moved a little slower, (The man was restless.)

I took the purse that was on the table and quietly opened the wardrobe to find two more small chests. I picked them up, one was very heavy. Back upstairs I tied them up in another curtain and I waited until Sam returned. She had a hard time but managed to pick up the bundle and move off with it.

I moved down to the main floor. I decided that there were too many people still moving around on this floor and turned to leave. When I did I saw a set of servant stairs leading down into a basement. Moving quietly I reached the bottom and listened at the door. When it was clear I tried the door only to find it barred from the inside.

Using my senses I felt the door and found the bar, slowly I hardened my sense of touch and lifted the bar and opened the door. This hall was wider and it held mostly storerooms but by the main stairs I found a door heavily barred and locked with a type of paddle lock.

Again I used my abilities to unlock the locks and quietly opened the door. Inside the room was like something out of a pirate movie with two large chests and piles of treasure. Opening the chests I found the first one half full of gold coins. The second only held a small amount of jewelry. There was a small chest next to the larger ones almost hidden. In it were gold bars, probable seventy pounds worth.

Looking around I found several empty canvas bags about the size of medium sized backpacks. When I was finished I had six bags. I took four and went back to the attic. I could only move slowly because of the weight. In the attic I put two over the rope and stepped up so that Sam could see me.

Sam whispered right away and I let the bags slide down the rope. Sam had to struggle this time. When the bags were off the rope I put the next two on and let them go. All the packs were heavy and she would have to make several trips.

I watched as she moved the packs one at a time into hiding and then taking one, she started off down the street. I turned and made my way back to what I called the treasure room. Inside I looked at the pile of treasure and knew I could not take the whole pile but maybe the Gems in them? I saw what looked like a rack of weapons, which was strange for a treasure room.

When I reached it, none of the weapons were gem encrusted but when I checked they seemed to be made of a silver metal that I could feel was stronger then steel. I took three of the swords and several of the knives. When I turned to head back my foot hit the end of a bundle of something. It was a sword, long knife and a very slim dagger (almost a stiletto.)

The leather they were wrapped in was cracked and peeling but when I pulled the sword out it was a gold metal and like nothing I had ever felt before. It was like a katana but not. Putting the blade back in the sheath I put the bundle in my belt like a samurai sword.

Back at the pile I used the slim dagger to pry the gems out and put them into a bag. It took a half hour before I was done. I grabbed my own treasure of bags, swords and knives and then picked up the small chest of gold. I closed and locking the door behind myself. Back in the attic I put the bags over the rope and stepped to the vent. This time it was a minute before Sam whispered and I let the bags slide down the rope.

The next was the small chest wrapped in another curtain. Tying the weapons together with a strip of cloth cut from the curtains I slid them down the rope. Untying the rope I let it fall. When Sam saw the rope go slack like that she looked up and I gestured for her to pull the rope.

When the rope was back over the wall I removed the hook and moved back out onto the wall of the house. After closing the vent I made my way back down to the tree. I was getting ready the jump back onto the wall when I heard Sam whisper, “Wait.”

Listening I heard someone walking down the street, after several minutes I heard them turn the corner and Sam whisper, “It is clear.”

Jumping to the wall I looked around and then jumped to the street. I crossed to where the rope was hanging down in the shadow of the house and climbed up. At the top I climbed onto the roof and then I undid the rope after removing the eye hook. I made a loop in the rope and put my foot in the loop. Making sure the rope was over the beam I swung out and lowered myself to the street. Once there I pulled the rope off the beam and coiled it.

I grabbed the small chest and the bundle of weapons and started off after Sam. When I reached the house we were hiding everything at I opened the gate. Closing it after I was in I crossed to where Sam was waiting. I could see that she was very tired. After hiding everything but two bags of gold and keeping the set of swords in my belt I led her out the gate.

Closing the gate we quietly made our way back to the inn. I found our window and leaving the bags with Sam climbed the wall. Back in the room I lowered the rope and raised the bags and then Sam. I closed the window and then stripped my shirt off to help cool down. When Sam saw me take the shirt off she muttered something to herself.

I looked at her, “Take your shirt off.”

At first she looked at me as if I was crazy but when I did not do anything but look back at her she slowly took it off. She was standing there without a shirt when I gestured to the bed, “Relax and lie on your stomach.”

After she had lain down I moved to her side and slowly started massaging her arms and shoulders. It was only a couple of minutes before she was fast asleep. I lay down beside her and pulled a cover over us and drifted off myself. We were awakened a couple of hours later when a servant started banging on the doors.

After our breakfast I led Sam out. My first goal was the burned out estate. The runner returned to the house an hour after we had sent him with a portly man following behind. It took a half hour of haggling to finely settle on a price but when we did I paid him right then. Next on my list of things to do was to buy a horse and wagon. With the amount of debris we would need something to move the heavy stuff with.

At the stockyards I bought a horse that was only two years old and trained to pull a cart or wagon. The wagon I bought surprised me, it actually had two types of springs, a type of leaf spring and coil springs. I also bought six large bundles of hay that were tied with twine and arranged for a couple of dozen to be delivered to the house.

We took a different way out of the stockyards so that we could pick up our loot. There was an area just outside the stockyard that drew my attention though. The buildings had high walls but open fronts with nice courtyards. I nodded to one of the buildings, “what do they do here?”

Sam looked at the one we were passing, “they are bond houses.”

When I looked at her with questioning eyes she sighed, “We have a bond system. Usually a child can be sold into bond service but a wage had to be paid to the servant upon the end of its bond. At the age of eighteen the bond becomes void unless both the bondservant and the bond owner petitioned a magistrate. In addition someone can be put into bond by a Liege or a court for payment of a debt or a lesser crime.”

I slowed at the last house, there were what looked like merchants going into and coming out of the building. I gestured, “What is happening here?”

Before Sam could say anything a passing merchant looked up at me, “They have a Mair.”

I looked at Sam to explain and she sighed, “A Mair is a creature that was created by a mage.”

I looked at her as if she where making it up so she gestured, “stop.”

Tying the wagon to a post we went inside. We were directed through an arch into the back. There were several large enclosures with people in them, mostly separated by sex or age. A portly man appeared at our side almost immediately asking what service he could provide. I looked at him, “We have been informed that there is a Mair here?”

The man sighed and muttered, “lookers, always lookers.”

I smiled, “I am also looking for workers and possibly a housekeeper.”

He brightened at this but I reminded him, “I would like to see the Mair.”

He nodded, “I will be right back.”

While he was gone we started looking around. I had not really been planning to buy a bond servant but the more I looked the more I was reminded of the history of slavery in the US. I stopped at the bars of an enclosure that only had one man in it. I looked at him, “why are you here?”

At first it did not look like he was going to answer. He finally looked at me, “I was a blacksmith and was unable to pay the fees for my shop. The merchant that owned the shop tried to take my daughter in payment and I fought for her. I was beaten and my shop taken, my wife (He pointed to a woman that was in another enclosure across from him) and my eight year old daughter were put in bond as well.” (His gesture took in a young girl in the enclosure next to her mother.)

The Bond Master returned with what I thought was a very beautiful girl. She was maybe sixteen with long blond hair and blue eyes. Her eyes were strange, the pupils were slits like a cat’s and her fingernails were retractable. She was probably 5’6” and she wore very little. She seemed to be completely covered with short soft hair like a cat.

The Bond Master gestured to her, “She was trained for pleasure but the mage died before completing the training.”

When I touched her I could feel something that was different in her but she was as human as I was. I looked at the Bond Master, “What will happen to her?”

He smiled oily, “Eventually someone will pay my price or she will be sent to one of the high-class crib houses.”

I did not like the sound of that and when I looked at Sam I could see she did not like that either. I sighed, “How much?”

The Bond Master looked at me and then shook his head. “You would not have enough.”

I only repeated, “How much?”

He told me and I started to bargain. First I brought up her age then the uncompleted training. We finally agreed on a price.”

I reminded him, “I was looking for workers too.”

The Bond Master was surprised, “I thought that had been a ploy to see the Mair.”

I looked around as if searching and then pointed out the man I had been speaking to earlier. “What about him?”

The merchant looked a little skeptical. I looked at him, “Does he have any skills?”

The Bond Master nodded, “He was a blacksmith.”

I gestured around, “I also needed a housekeeper and maybe someone to help with the chores.”

At first he pointed out an older woman that looked to be sixty. I shook my head, “no, she is too old.”

I pointed to the blacksmiths wife, “What about her?”