Kerric the Mercenary: Episode 13, The Inn of Den

Once more Kerric's men take to an inn to await Corman.

Sunlight streaked across the King’s road through the long morning shadows, marking Den with shifting light. Kerric guided Akrus off the road into that roadside village. They’d never stopped here, but rode through on more than one occasion. It was a nothing commoner’s village, that not even its knight protector actually lived there.

Pulling Akrus up before the old hay barn that now served as an inn, Kerric pulled a small gem from his pouch. Looking at the rider that came up behind him, he said, “Ramo, your turn to get the Warcats’ dinner. Two Kartoon or equivalent, each,” and tossed the gem.

There was no coral here, just a hitching post, but someone did have a fallow field less than 100 paces away. Tossing his bed roll and one of his packs down next to the door, Kerric rode for that empty field.

“Locklear, you have the duty until midday. Ostar, you will relieve him,” he called before he dismounted. As tired as the Warcats were now, not even his Akrus should give either man any trouble, but being this tired, any villager that came anywhere near was at risk. While he couldn’t care less if some villager too stupid to say clear became a Warcat’s dinner, it always led to more trouble.

Akrus laid down the moment he was out of the saddle, showing just how tired the night run had made him. Watching the other cat do the same, Kerric understood that it wasn’t just his men that had lost their edge. They just lay down where they stopped instead of arranging themselves to watch every direction. Coming down hard on his men may fix that or may not. There was every chance that all the warcat they had brought will need to be put down on returning home.

A tired old slave in her last stages of life in a grime ridden slave cloth was moving the pack inside as he arrived at the door.

A man’s voice rang out from the other side at the cookfire as he stepped inside. “There is a bit of porridge left, and am starting a new pot right now. Ya be here for lunch? Need ta know how many vegetables to get for the stew.”

Seven people were at that end of the dark musky building; more than half were likely the innkeeper and his family. “Meeting people here. Might be here a day; could be three. Stew’s fine for lunch, but get an Omark roasting in the fire pit outside for dinner.”

A boy of about nine came and stood next to Kerric.

“Give my grandson your coin, and he’ll get one here. Mind you, one will need be slaughtered, gutted and skinned first. There is no chance of an early dinner. That will be near sundown, even at a rush job unless you plan on eating it raw.”

Kerric tossed the old man a gem instead of handing the boy anything. “That will cover all three days, for my men and if our guests arrive, with meat at every meal, and egg for breaking our fast in the mornings as well as all that they can drink.”

The man caught the gem and only glanced at it. “That it will, sir, that it will. Ben, run tell Kindo, three Omark, one a day, ten Kartoons every day, plus every egg he has, and he is to see me for the payment.”

As the boy shot out the door between two of his men coming in, an old woman, likely the innkeeper’s wife, set a couple of full flagons down on the table Kerric stood near.

“Have a flagon. The food may not be anything special, but my beer certainly is.”

Kerric took one seat, and Harkman sat down and took the other. The beer wasn’t top quality as far as big cities had, for a price, but was a few steps above the Merc piss that most inns served. Staying here, even sleeping on the floor, would not be all bad.

Mercenary Captain Kerric: Episode 14, Settling in Den.

Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12——14

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