Chapter 6

“Ok, maybe I don’t have a clue, but I have to find out what they are doing to the village,” thought Ledger. When he reached the point he could see the edges of the village, he spotted a group of six men blocking the road at the edge of town. He immediately turned off the road and made it to the cover of the trees before anybody took notice of him. He climbed a solid looking tree near the edge closest to the town. From his vantage, he saw something that would haunt him for some time to come. He could see dozens of women and children in chains attached in lines to pillars spaced across the town’s market square. All the prisoners had been stripped of their clothing, exposing them to the elements. He could tell that many of the women had cuts bruises visible even from as far out as he was. Most of the children lay on the ground, curled up in balls, crying out in fear if anybody came near them.

He saw a small man walking around them. He had a whip and he would lash it out at one of the captives at random. Ledger tried to focus on the whip but it was too far away for him to work on. “Ok, distance is an issue. I’ll have to work on that.” Several other people were gathered around a raised stage, looking on as a woman was chained to a pillar on it as he watched. He couldn’t tell right away what was going on until one of the people stepped up to the stage, handed something to the person in charge and the woman was brought down to him. He had just witnessed a slave sale. Ledger wanted to charge in and kill all the men and free the captives in a blind rage. His reason quickly took over and pointed out that there were close to one hundred of them, and only one of him.

He studied the area around the small village and spotted what looked like a good approach covered by more trees. Ledger never made it to the trees. The men on the road were watching for any travelers coming from that direction as well. Ledger felt sick at what he had to do. “I’m sorry, he whispered. “I can’t take them alone. I’ll try to find help for you,” he whispered. Moving back the way he had come, Ledger gave the town a wide berth. It was five days before he came across a patrol in the livery of the prince of Tarin’s Crossing. He told them what he had seen and heard. They assured him they would see to the village as well as they were able. When Ledger asked how far he was from the Crossing, the patrol leader told him he was still a solid two weeks of walking from Tarin’s Crossing if the weather held. He just needed to stay on this road and he would hit a town at least once a day that has at least one Inn. They assured him again, that the situation further out would be looked into.

“Andrew, I felt so sick when I had to leave those women and children to suffer like that,” said Ledger. “I felt so...” he paused, swallowing a lump in his throat, “So useless.”

“Ledger, look at me,” said Andrew, when he had Ledger’s attention he continued, “You did the only thing that you could do. I would have done the same thing, to be honest. It would have been a useless gesture to attack the slavers in those numbers. You went ahead and found those that could help if they were able.” Andrew watched Ledger, making sure he understood that walking away from a fight you have no chance of winning is not being a coward.

“I know you’re right Andrew, but it galls me that those women and children continued to suffer because I couldn’t help them.” He smacked the table with his fist in frustration.

“Think of it this way. You cooked the four that waylaid you. Just think about what you’ll be able to do once you get some training and experience under your belt,” said Andrew.

Ledger smiled grimly, thinking about that future, it was always in the back of his mind. “Ok, I’ll come with you and Brena to the Cove. I haven’t got a future here with the flood of free stones hitting the market.”

They sat in silence when the doors opened and a man strode in angrily. “Jessa!” he yelled.

A few seconds later Jessa exited the kitchen to the common room to see who was yelling for her. “There you are woman,” he said.

“What’s all the fuss Bunter. You’re usually so calm and quiet,” she said smiling as that was as far from the truth about him as you could get.

“Yeah, right, woman. Folks are going nuts all of a sudden. All the stones the palace put out just stopped working and fell to dust,” he exclaimed. “They all just quit and fell apart.”

Ledger froze in place with a frown, He closed his eyes in thought, when he opened them he said, “That explains the power source for the stones.” Now he grinned in the realization of a greater, and frightening truth about himself. “Those idiots can’t hook them to the...” he paused, having the thought that revealing too much about the truth would be a bad idea right then. “Well, they used the energy that exists in all matter to make them work. When the stones binding energy ran out, Poof, dust in the wind. Even better, or more likely worse, I think I know who made them.” H shuddered in both fear and anger.

Bunter looked at Ledger, “And how would you know...” It was then he recognized Ledger. “Oh, you would know, wouldn’t you. Well as I was saying, the folks are going nuts. It happened all at once like all the stones and plates had been made and turned on at the same time.”

“That does explain it,” said Ledger.

“Ledger, I think you might want to return to the market and get ready to get very busy. I know of quite a few butchers and packers that were using the palace stones for cooling and freezing. And the streetlamps won’t turn on tonight.” Bunter looked on as Ledger thought about the situation.

Ledger looked at Andrew as if asking for advice. Andrew gave a slight shrug as if to say it was up to him to decide. It was the thought of the gold he could charge all the city folks for not using his enchantments, to begin with. He started to rise then stopped. “You do know I won’t be giving anything away. I will be charging for stones and plates. Light is cheap. Heat and cold will cost more, of course.”

Bunter seemed to sag before saying, “Yeah, I kind of figured that would happen, taking revenge on us for using the palace stones.”

“No,” said Ledger sharply. “Not revenge. I have always charged or traded since I arrived in the Crossing. With this mess, I will be charging gold only. Freezer plates are the costly ones. Five royal plat coins for each, no dickering.”

“Royals? Boy, that could break some of the merchants if you insist on Royals,” Bunter complained.

“Hmmm, I guess that is pushing it a bit with the current emergency. I will not make these for free, but I won’t overcharge either.” He stood to leave then had another thought. He turned back to Andrew, “Want to play guard for a while? I think I might need one.”

Andrew frowned, “I don’t work for free either,” he said to Ledger. He stood and headed to the stairs, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I need to get a few things first.” Andrew returned to his room and pulled his father’s old studded leather from the pack. He stripped from his street clothes and pulled on a body sock, then slid into the suit pants. He pulled the top on, then began mounting his arsenal. This was the first time he had decided to wear the entire battle kit. He returned downstairs to a waiting Ledger and the small crowd that had come in since he had left the room.

Ledger glanced up from the conversation he was having when Andrew returned. He did a double-take at seeing his new friend in dark heavy studded leather armor. The leather was a deep brown and the studs had been treated so they were a non-reflective black. The sword he had been wearing before was low key and of little notice. Now it stood out and made sure the observer took notice of it. Across his back, he had his bow. It wasn’t strung, but he could pull it around and have it ready to fire in a minute or less. The biggest warning to those in the room was the heavy six-foot-long battle staff he carried at the ready. They took notice and gave him room to make his way down to stand by Ledger.

Andrew didn’t realize it right then, but he was looking everybody over and making a fast threat assessment of those in the common room. He didn’t see anybody right away that was armed heavily, but he was still cautious. Things had gotten very suddenly out of hand for Ledger and he would need help and protection. “Come on Ledger, let’s get you to the market to start selling enchantments.”

Ledger stood and allowed Andrew to lead him out the door and into the street. It was out here that they got a glimpse of the chaos that the loss of the palace stones had caused. Andrew leaned down to Ledger’s ear and whispered, “I hope you have really good enchanting stamina. You are going to be busy for a few days.” That said, he pulled the staring boy that seemed overwhelmed by events along to get him set up to make more money in a day than at any other time in his short life. It took ten minutes to get Ledger back to his table at the edge of the square.

On the way to the market square, Ledger’s mind wandered back to an event when he was around six years old, the memory triggered by the current events. He had been sitting by a small pond that bordered the family property. He had spent the morning watching a large frog grab insects from the air and the surrounding grass. The frog had stayed near him since it had discovered in its simple-minded way that as long as the big creature was near, the birds left it alone.

Ledger was considering heading home for a mid-day meal when he heard footsteps in the high grass around him. Looking in the direction of the steps, he soon spotted his sister, Brecka. He didn’t care for her in the least, to be honest, he was terrified of her. She was a mean spirited, bad-tempered and abusive witch towards him, and nasty to all men in general. He was unable to fight back most times though. She was nine and much larger and stronger than he was.

“There you are you little rat. Mother dear, the old hag sent me out to find you and bring you back.” She looked around and snorted in disgust at what she saw, “Why are you sitting out here anyway?” she asked in a derisive tone.

Ledger knew to not answer would lead to pain, yet answering would as well, so he kept it as simple as possible. “Just watching nature at its best. It is peaceful out here.”

“Nature? Peaceful? Bullshit! You’re just hiding from me and the others. Now I know where to look. I will find you easier every time you hide from now on,” she snarled. She looked down at him and spotted the frog. Using a pointed stick she always carried, she stabbed down and skewered the helpless creature on it. She held up to Ledger’s face as he stared at it in shocked horror. “You see this little rat? This is what I will do to everything and everyone you come to like,” her face twisted into a visage that could almost be called demonic, “Or heavens forbid should you fall in love with someone. I will ruin any happiness you happen to find. The old bat should have left you to die rather than pamper and coddle you.” She flipped the stick and the twitching frog dropped to Ledger’s lap.

Ledger watched the sad, dying frog, tears welling in his eyes as it quickly stopped moving and died while it lay on his lap. As it died, it didn’t know what was said to it, “I’m so sorry little frog. I just wanted to like you, not get you killed.” He looked at the way she had gone and cursed her for her evil intent. He swore he would never be like her or his brothers. They were worse by far, and yet he feared her in a greater way. They only caused pain in the body, while she caused pain in the heart and soul.

Ledger snapped back to the present, he knew Andrew could be a good friend. What he feared was somebody would harm Andrew because he liked him. When they set up his table, seven men and four women in butcher’s aprons rushed over. They all had looks of desperation on their faces. The largest of the group also happened to be the butcher Andrew had dropped his meat off with. “Boy, I hope you are as good as you claim. We all need cooler and freezer stones as quickly as possible.”

Ledger snapped himself out of the shock he had been in over the failure of the palace stones in such an abrupt manner. He could see how that was possible, that it had been planned this way. He would figure it out later. “Ok, this is not a free service, you understand that, yes?”

“Yes, we know you always charged for your stones. How much for the set of cooler and freezer?” asked the big man.

Ledger didn’t want to hurt these folks, but he couldn’t be cheap with his enchanting either. He understood that he was different from others like him. He was able to tap into the real power that was missing from so much of the world. What he had done to the four slavers on the road had taught him that. “Normally I would charge Royals, I will only ask for lesser Plat coins today. Five plat coins for each chill or freezer plate or rod. The same goes for heat plates and stones. Light stones will be decided on properties and size.”

Only one man let out a groan from the numbers. The rest looked confused. “Why are you going so cheap on us?” Asked the leader of the group, the man Andrew had done business with, “We didn’t do you any favors by using the city supplied stones, and another thing, why plates or rods?”

“They produce more cold or heat.” He went on to explain that he had found that a cold producing plate was best kept high in the center of the room. The rods had to be wall-mounted and worked best as part of a deep freezer. The heat plates are best kept near the floor. Not touching it, but close.”

The merchants all paid and he prepared the stone plates he asked them to bring. When the bigger jobs had been completed, folks had lined up to wait their turn. Most wanted a few simple lights for their homes. A few wanted water heaters or box coolers. He paused in enchanting long enough to eat lunch and dinner later. He could feel himself tiring well before the end of the market day and his enchanting began to go wrong. When a light stone flared sun bright and melted into the stones of the square, he called it a day. Those still waiting had seen what had happened when an enchantment went wrong so didn’t complain loudly, or much.

Andrew escorted Ledger back to the Rusty Shovel. “Where have you been staying Ledger?” Andrew asked.

Ledger took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. “At a flophouse in the old city. It’s a few buildings down from the Assassins Guild. Not the nicest place, but the owner makes sure nothing is stolen if you keep him paid. I guess I need to go back now for the night.”

Andrew grinned and said, “Nope, you will go and collect your stuff and bring it here at the Rusty Shovel. You can afford a nice room and bath now after today’s sales.” Andrew returned to the seat he had been in when all the fuss started and called for water. He set aside his buckler and staff and was soon in relative comfort watching the room and keeping an eye out for Brena should she return.

Ledger was worried. He had three pouch’s full of gold and plat coins. He would be a target for any robber on the rapidly darkening streets. He worried until it hit him, he could make it so anybody that tried to grab the pouches would find it impossible to lift or carry them. A reverse of the weight-reducing enchantment. He made it to the flop without any trouble, for that he was thankful.

What he didn’t know right then was he was being watched and protected. The Local thieves had bought several dozen light stones and would buy more. Andrew was not worried that Ledger was on his own at this point. He had received a note from one of the men that had visited Brena the night they had arrived letting him know that Ledger could safely walk the streets and would remain unmolested, under their protection until Ledger left the city. In their view, this boy was a resource to be protected. Word had gone out that he was hands-off. Anybody that defied that order would quite literally be, hands-off. After gathering his gear and packing it all for the short trip to the Rusty Shovel, he paid the owner the day’s rent and thanked him for being such a good host.

Ledger made a stop at a pastry shop along the way to get a bite to eat. He noticed and felt one of his freshly made lights in the center lantern and smiled. As a precaution, he felt it and checked to make sure it was stable and not failing as the palace stones had. He could tell it was solidly affixed in the weave and would continue to glow for a good century or more unless shattered. Thanking the baker after paying for the sweet bread, he went back out into the night, keeping an eye out for possible threats. None materialized, though he did hear something like a thud from a nearby rooftop about halfway to the Inn. When he made it to the door, he paused, took a deep breath then opened it. He had half expected something bad to happen, yet nothing had. He just wasn’t used to things going smoothly and easily in his life.