The Vaetra Chronicles: Book 01 - Vaetra Unveiled

Vaetra
Unveiled

Book One of the
Vaetra Chronicles

Daniel R. Marvello

Published by Magic Fur Press
An imprint of Logical Expressions, Inc.
311 Fox Glen Road, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864, USA

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business organizations, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

VAETRA UNVEILED

Copyright (c) 2012 by Daniel R. Marvello
All rights reserved.

Cover design and layout by Susan C. Daffron

No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-61038-007-2 (paperback)

For my wife Susan.

Your patience gives me determination,

your support gives me courage,

and your love sustains me.

T
he folded piece of parchment was sealed with a tiny dot of red wax. It had my name on it:
Jaylan Forester
. I peeled the note open and read the words scrawled inside.
Need help. Meet at inn at dusk. Can pay.

I looked up at Captain Borlan Koster. His deep brown eyes were watching my green ones as he leaned over his desk, bracing his sturdy dark frame with his fists on the stained surface. His stance would be intimidating to people who didn't know him, but Borlan had been my friend and my boss for more than a year. We stood in the sparsely furnished entry area at the Northshore town chapter of Raven Company, next to the front desk where Borlan met with clients.

"Who dropped this off?" I asked.

Borlan shrugged. "I didn't see. I just heard the front door open and shut. The note was on the front desk when I came downstairs. What's it about?"

I shook my head, turning the note over in my hand and scowling. "No idea. The note just says to meet at the inn later." I handed it to Borlan.

He grinned as he read the note. "I like the 'can pay' part," he said, handing it back to me. The dark skin of his scarred hand contrasted sharply with the light, freckled skin of mine. We were physical opposites; he was tall, dark, and bulky with short-cropped black hair, while I was lean, pale, average in height, and wore my long red hair tied behind my back. When people saw us walking together, they often did a double-take.

I slipped the note into my pocket. "We'll see. If the coin is worth the work, I won't turn it down. Whoever it is must know something about me and what I do here."

Borlan nodded. "Or knows someone who does."

Raven Company mostly employed mercenary soldiers who worked as guards for hire. I did that kind of work when necessary, but my skills and background made me more valuable to Borlan as a problem solver. I was better than most people at finding things that were lost and digging out the truth when it was hidden. If the person who wrote the note just needed a bodyguard, Borlan would have been the logical addressee, and any Raven Company man could have done the job.

"I guess I'll find out at dusk," I said. "Any other prospects?" Business had been slow lately. The regular contracts for bodyguards and caravan guards were disappointingly thin at the moment, and we'd had none of the commissions that took advantage of my skills.

Borlan pursed his lips and shook his head. "If something comes up, you'll be the first to know. Finding work for you would be good for all of us." He'd be happy because my contracts were some of the most lucrative, and Raven Company got a cut of whatever I made on a job. "We did get work for two men, and I assigned Kefer and Peltor to it. They're escorting a wagon from Delta to Plains End. Small job, but it's something."

"Good to hear," I said. "Maybe this will turn into something good too," I added, patting the pocket with the note. "Well, I'd better get back to the inn. Dusk is only an hour or two away, and Dela needs me to help her with something. I'll let you know how the meeting goes." I raised my hand in farewell and headed toward the door.

"That girl will have you married and settled down as an innkeeper before the year is out," Borlan said with a laugh.

"Let's see if we can get me some more work here so that isn't necessary," I said wryly over my shoulder as I opened the door to leave.

"Which, being an innkeeper or getting married?" Borlan teased.

I closed the door behind me without answering him. "Either," I said to myself after the door had closed completely.

***

I was glad for my thick woolen shirt as I headed back to the Snow Creek Inn. A breeze stirred the budding branches of the birch in front of the Raven Company building, adding to the late afternoon chill. The previous night's rain had slowed to a light, misty drizzle for most of the day. The sun was just above the mountain peaks to the west, but it was barely visible as a bright spot in the clouds.

I crossed the street, dodging horses and nodding to townspeople on their final errands of the day. I was thankful the streets had dried enough to firm up before the recent storm arrived. Just two weeks ago, the streets had been rivers of rutted mud and half-frozen puddles.

A customer went into the bakery as I passed, and the delicious aromas escaping the open door made me salivate. But I wasn't tempted to stop. One of the nice things about living at the inn was that fresh bread was always available.

Across the way, Burl the blacksmith was cleaning up as he prepared to close his shop. I waved to him when he looked up, and he tentatively waved back. Apparently, I still had more work to do to restore my reputation around town.

As I walked, I pondered what this new job might be about. Why the mystery? Most Raven Company clients just walked into the office and told us what they wanted. Someone obviously did not want to be seen talking with us. Well, with
me
actually.

I shook my head and chastised myself for the directions my thoughts were going. I'd learn more soon, and any speculation before then would just be making up stories. I seriously hoped it was a job I could take. I wasn't cut out to be a full-time innkeeper, even if my share of the income from the inn did cover my basic needs.

Dela disagreed with that assessment, of course. She was the eighteen-year-old daughter of my late partner, Griz, and now she and her mother, Luma, ran the inn. Dela had recently decided that our pairing was meant to be, since I was single and already invested in the business. In her eyes, we would make a perfect couple.

She didn't understand that the life of an innkeeper wasn't enough for me.

I had originally invested money in the inn three years ago to help out my friend Griz when he decided to buy and renovate the venerable building. At that time, I was the recently-promoted Captain of the Imperial Guard here in Northshore. I had plenty of cash and not much to do with it.

But then everything had changed. I scowled at the memory, and a little boy who was walking the opposite direction with his mother clutched her hand tightly and hugged closer to her when he saw the look on my face. His mother glared at me as she passed, and I shrugged my shoulders in mute apology.

A little over a year ago, I had discovered that Belomy Trask, the local tax collector and brother of Northshore Governor Marrin Trask, was running what amounted to an extortion scheme. His job was to collect the Imperial and local taxes. But he collected more than the mandated amounts and filled his own purse with the surcharge. Merchants who refused to pay the extra coin experienced an unusual amount of misfortune in their business or family.

Before I could build enough evidence to prosecute Trask, I found myself accused of masterminding the crime. It seemed that no one wanted me to investigate, not even the victims. Rakerus, my second-in-command and the man who eventually replaced me as Captain, was allowed to prove that no such crime had taken place. I was exonerated, and the true conspirators smugly let me walk away.

But Belomy Trask made sure that my career in the Guard was over. According to him, I had falsely accused a respected family and had proven myself unworthy of my responsibilities. The years I had invested in that career were wasted. Well, almost.

I turned onto Cedar Street and passed the Stone Tonic Shop. I scowled at the front door as I walked by. Caslin Stone, the proprietor, had been one of the townspeople who had warned me not to pursue the investigation. He had testified along with a few other shopkeepers that no crime had been committed, thus helping to exonerate me, but also sealing my fate with the Imperial Guard.

Down the road ahead of me, I could see the sign for the Snow Creek Inn swinging slowly on its chains above the front door. The inn represented my salvation to a degree. It was there I had holed up after being expelled from the Guard. My apartment was attached to the north side of the building, and it had given me plenty of room to sulk.

Griz and Luma had given me time to recover and offered me a more active role in operating the inn. Meanwhile, Dela defended me in arguments with townspeople who sneered at my failure. She argued with such confidence and maturity that I was shocked to realize that she was no longer my friend's gawky little girl; she had grown into a strong and attractive woman.

Initially feeling betrayed by the town I loved, I was grateful for Dela's friendship and attention. I should have realized that her feelings ran much deeper than mine, and that the eight-year difference in our ages didn't matter to her. I should have set her straight when I first recognized that her feelings were becoming romantic, but even now I couldn't bring myself to break her heart when she had worked so hard to heal mine.

For a while, the distraction of helping out at the inn had been welcome, but doing the work of a stable boy and barkeep eventually left me restless and miserable. That's when my friend Rakerus suggested I consider going to work with Raven Company.

I was resistant at first. As Captain of the Imperial Guard, I was used to thinking of Raven Company as a potential source of trouble. I had doubts about the ethics of a band of mercenaries, although truthfully, they had never given me reason to distrust them.