Chapter 6: Part 6: The Faithlessness of Humans

He was a wizened little wisp of a man, all laugh lines and wrinkles under the biggest, bushiest eyebrows Sebastian thought he might have ever seen in his long life. Leaning on his cane, the alderman just stared at Sebastian.

"What? I got something on my face?" the Relict growled at him.

The human nervously cleared his throat, seeming to decide that description was the way to go and making no comment on Sebastian's injury.

"Ah, sir Relict!" he said, giving Sebastian a weak smile. "We wasn’t expecting you back...so soon, I mean."

Not at all, possibly.

Wouldn't be the first client to hire a Relict and then go telling him stories about a less dangerous monster than advertised, all while planning to pay a lower fee once the job was done. Or hoping to have the monster and under-prepared Relict just kill each other off, both problems gone and the payment now lining the local official's pocket.

Arguably an even better outcome —

— at least for them that weren't the Relict.

Sebastian could feel the growl starting in the back of his throat as he watched the shifting expressions on the alderman's face as the little man thought quickly.

"There’s uh, there’s been a small problem you see," the alderman said, not nearly as concerned that Sebastian's patience was fast growing thin as the Relict would prefer he would be.

Sebastian growled deeper.

The man paled gratifyingly under his gardener's tan.

"Not to worry! Not to worry at all. We’ve got a solution all worked out. It’ll be just fine, don’t you fret none. Better, even — you’ll see! Or uh…" he stammered, unable to take his eyes off Sebastian’s face. "Hrm. Just...why don’t you come with me, then? Just come right this way, and you can have a lo— Just come this way, alright?"

The alderman shut his door firmly behind him and made much of himself locking it with a skeleton key he then turned and secreted somewhere on his person.

Sebastian rolled his eyes at the alderman's back. Like he was going to risk getting hung for theft just to sneak in and steal whatever plated silver spoon the man might have in there.

He gestured with one knobbly, age-spotted hand for Sebastian to follow him, making his way slowly towards what passed for the town’s main square.

Perhaps closer to a lumpen kite shape than a true square, it was formed of a widened stretch of packed earthen road flanked on either side by a few optimistic shops before it forked abruptly into a Y proudly watched over by the town's public house, with the attached stable set behind. The main road continued from here on straight to the right, while the left meandered off toward more rows of neat flowerbedecked cottages before eventually running up against the dense forest that surrounded this town.

"I don’t like games," Sebastian gritted out to the alderman as they walked towards the space. He tried to keep his words as polite as he could manage for an injured Relict who just wanted to get his fucking coin and leave; one who could sense he was about to be dicked over instead. "I did the job, I want my payment. And then I want to talk to your healer."

"Oooo — ," the alderman said with a quick suck of his teeth. "I'm terribly sorry, but you'll be finding some hard luck there. Our village healer’s gone for the season to give her sister a hand with the wee new babe, I’m afraid. Next nearest one’s back the direction you came from — in Rödholm, better part of a day's ride on the main road."

Fuck.

Sebastian couldn't help the sinking feeling spreading through his gut anymore than he could go back to Rödholm. Not until a few tempers had cooled, at least. Certainly not in his current state.

You win a few too many hands of tafik against the town guards and then suddenly everyone's all ready for some cheap entertainment at the Relict's expense. He had barely gotten out of there fast enough.

You are reading story Relict Saga at novel35.com

And alright, maybe he shouldn't have said what he did about the guard captain's sister. Or his brother. Or the three of them together.

But it's not like the guard captain and his friends hadn't already ganged up and broken out the torches and pitchforks by that point anyway. So Sebastian had figured, hey — why not at least have a little fun before he was run out of town by an angry mob?

Perhaps not his wisest move, in hindsight.

"Rödholm's a shithole," he growled at the alderman instead. "Where else?"

"We-ellllll," the alderman hedged, scratching his chin. "There's supposed to be a fine young healer that's set up shop over in Järnekbro. Bit of an inconvenience, being on t'other side of the woods 'n all, but — "

"Alright, whatever," Sebastian snapped, already resigning himself to the delay. "Point me in the right direction and I’ll find my way there."

The alderman sucked his teeth again. "There’s strange things in the woods these days master Relict. Not the sort of place for the unwary."

"I’m sure I can handle it," Sebastian said with a meaningful shrug of his shoulder to emphasize the sword on his back. He made sure to fill his voice with a weary confidence he in no way felt at the moment, eyeing the faces he could see now watching them from the windows of the public house.

He wanted out of this town fast — away from any humans with potentially mob-leaning feelings that might get riled up at the sight of a weakened Relict.

"Mmm-hmmm," the alderman hummed in a way that was as infuriating as it was agreeable. "Strange even for your folk, I’d wager. Trust me, son — you’ll be wanting a guide to get you through, make sure you don’t get lost in the swamps. Or worse. It's almost the end of autumn, you see; time soon when folks say they’ve seen the lords and ladies out there in the wilds."

"What do I care if your jarl is fixing to go berry picking in the local swamps or whatever?"

"No. The lords and ladies. You know, the — "

And here, curiously, the alderman looked around them furtively. As if he was about to tell Sebastian a secret in the middle of a crowded marketplace, full of eyes and ears of villainous intent.

As if it wasn't just the two of them, alone on the empty village road; before the alderman hastily licked his lips, whispering —

" — the Wise Ones."

 

---

Author's Notes:

Hey, I need your help!

Scribble Hub puts a lot of emphasis on ratings and comments, which is really important for an author just starting out. So if you liked it, please consider tossing a ❤️ my way; it's like a digital high five! (Not to mention that sweet sweet dopamine hit feeds the writing beast. So be ye warned an’ shit, I guess…)

Plus, I'd just love to hear what you thought of the episode in the comments below! Can't improve unless I know what's working and what's not, right? ????

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can find story with these keywords: Relict Saga, Read Relict Saga, Relict Saga novel, Relict Saga book, Relict Saga story, Relict Saga full, Relict Saga Latest Chapter