Blades by the firelight

My eyes were transfixed by the blade held inches in front of my face, and a rare thing happened: I was speechless.

He was a big man, in bulk if not in muscle, taller than Seymuhr, who had tossed me over his shoulder and carried me to this place. A dark cloak covered his shoulders and was held in place above his left breast with a silver broach that glinted with dark rubies. Metal glinted at his wrists. He wore a cap of blackish leather that pushed his hair out above his ears like a canopy. His beard covered his chin and throat, the ends touched with gray. His eyes were dark and piercing under a furrowed brow that was split above his right eye by a small scar. A wide, tan belt encircled his middle. Several small tubes were poked into it and pouches dangled from it like bells on a harness. The hilt of another blade, well worn and dull in the firelight, peeked from the top of his boot.

Seymuhr had disappeared; drifting behind me to cut off my escape. Nor were they alone in the clearing. Another form that I did not notice at first rose gracefully to his feet. Small and slim, he had the appearance of an easterner and wore only short pants under a plain tunic. Sandals covered his feet. He had a spear in his grasp, but he held it as a staff and did not point it in my direction. Another dark shape hanging from his belt could have been some form of club, but I could not tell. He wore a bemused smile on his face, his eyes half closed as if he were politely appreciating a joke or some kind of dullard recovering from a blow to the head.

"Well, speak up!" The bigger man growled. "Seymuhr, what have you done now? Can you not follow simple instructions?"

"She saw me."

"He...I think he killed a man back there," I stammered. I had quickly surmised that any hope I had of escape meant lulling these men into a false sense of security and then running as fast as my thick legs could chase me.

My inquisitor made an exasperated noise. "Apparently not, then. Perhaps we should have sent you, instead." This was directed at the smaller man over his shoulder. He shrugged, but the other man could not see him.

"I expressly forbid you from two things," his ire was directed at Seymuhr, now. "Killing and wenching. And what have you done? Brought back some kind of....trophy...and left a bloody wake behind!"

"I beg your pardon! I am no man's....trophy."

"That much is obvious," he cut me off, dismissively, but lowered his blade. "Well. It can't be helped now. What of our quarry? Did you find him, at least?"

Seymuhr moved back into the firelight. "Aye. He was where you said he'd be. He spun the tale. I would have followed him, but she interceded. Then things got..."

The other man waved off the rest. "I can only guess. Interceded how?"

"I heard his tale," I said. My heart had slowed and I thought that I might no longer be in immediate danger. Now, I was questioning what had actually happened back at The Bent Lance. Had I inadvertently wandered into some other kind of drama? Perhaps these men were agents of the crown? "I merely sought more information from the man."

He sheathed his sword. "Is he a friend of yours?"

I didn't care for his tone, or the insinuation. "No!" I said, and perhaps I was a bit too loud and indignant. "I sensed a tale to tell, and that is my responsibility—a right I was given by Queen Phaedra herself. I am a Falcuhn, and..."

He raised his eyebrows at this. "A Falcuhn? Well, that is interesting. Very interesting indeed. And did you glean any information from this man?"

"I did not, but only because this brute interrupted me, although I guess it was no fault of his."

He shook his head. "It rarely is; not in the way you mean, anyway." He stroked his chin and lifted a leg to rest his boot on a stump. He pushed the knife hilt down. "A Falcuhn," he mused. "Perhaps, just perhaps, Seymuhr, you have accidentally done us all a good service." His face suddenly brightened, and he turned to me with a smile, hand extended.

"I am Merrick," he said, then motioned toward the other, smaller man in the clearing, who nodded as he was introduced. "This is my companion, Broo-Fang Tane. You have already met Seymuhr, of course. If you are interested in a tale, we have one worth telling. Perhaps many of them. Will you join us?

His grip was firm. I nodded in answer to his question, thinking what a strange night it had been—for I was once again speechless.