//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 the road to Riverside // Story: The merchants new life // by Jade Copperfield //------------------------------// She continued to look at me with the knife to my throat as I kept my hands level with my head. I wasn't expecting to wake up to this after all my time with people that have fainted is normally due to huge blood loss and injury. Or they saw something they just couldn't believe, and my money is on the trauma of disbelief partially due to the fact she is still covered in dry blood and she was constantly shaking with erratic heavy breathing. She asked me while she was heavily breathing" Why are you here"? Her voice had a somewhat threatening tinge to it but honestly everything is when you have your own knife at your throat. I said to her in a trying to be calm voice" I-I don't have a clue". That was most likely what she wasn't expecting so she put more pressure on my throat and also kept on pushing my chest down. She said in a annoyed tone" What do you mean you don't have a clue". I kept my hands up and shuffled very slightly to get comfortable and to make sure not almost all her weight was on my legs. I said to her in the same tone as before" let me explain one moment I was on the side of a mountain following a path to a town, but I fell of said path and I notice a portal before I fell into it and now I'm here, and to be honest right about now I'm wishing I took the fall at least it would have broke my legs and I could still live but no I'm now probably going to die in a very not preferable way". I let my annoyance slip during my final rant. She looked at me like if you saw a old man claim he was dead and come back to life to spite his children's children. She asked" How would have died if you had wings on you, are they just decoration"? I said to her" Of course there not decoration and besides do you think you can fly when you are lugging that huge pack". I pointed to said pack that if on me would give me an extra fifty pounds and put my wings in a position that would make it impossible to fly with it on. She looked at the pack for a second that was behind her, so I decided to play my move. I grabbed her hand that held the knife and shoved it toward her with the blade pointing at her. I got up from my sitting position and yanked the knife from her hands. She was now lying on the ground with a look of complete fear and at my mercy, but I didn't go up and move or anything I just stood there at my full height with my knife pointed at her. I said to her" You should know that rule one of having someone at your mercy is to never look around". I did a one hand gesture while saying this. She told me in fear" W-What a-are you going to d-do". She kept on stuttering and was once again breathing heavily. I stared at her for a little bit of time thinking of what I should do. "She attacked me in my sleep but she is scared and is covered in blood probably survived the encounter of a possible "Demon" if that is what attacked her judging from her first words, and she doesn't look like a bandit after all what bandit wears just a shirt and pants."I offered my claw to her but she just looked away trembling. "I'm offering you a hand up not to maul you". She looked back quickly and saw my claw gently lazily outstretched. She very slowly took it and I slowly helped pull her up. Her hands were soft and gentle similar to someone who hadn't worked a hard job, but now she was on her feet and still covered in blood, trembling, and newly added dirt. She asked me" Why aren't you hurting me I put a blade to your throat". She looked at me with a very confused expression and I'm pretty sure everyone seeing this would have been equally confused. "Because your just scared and you look like last night was a very bad for you". I muttered under my breath" And I might need a guide". I think she heard me but there was no obvious hint that she did. "So do you want to tell me what happened last night or do you want to not look like a ghost, if you care more for looks there is a river there through those bushes". She seemed to take that a wrong direction and stiffened like a piece of wood. I added very quickly along with scratching my head" I won't look at all just thought you wanted to not look like a horror book victim". She seemed to understand it and was less rigid and started scooting backward through the branches. She then turned around and ran through the branches and I heard an audible splash. "What the hell have I got myself into". We were sitting next to the fire that I had reignited to dry of her clothes and I was looking toward the forest one way and I was hoping she was looking the other direction due to how awkward and embarrassing this must be to her. Good thing I gave her one of my blankets, one of my many blankets. "Why is it so hot it's like an oven this isn't normal temperature for fall unless you live in a desert"?I grabbed on the collar of my coat and stretched it to let some air in but it never worked. So I decided to strike a conversation to pass the time and heat. "So you want to talk about last night now since your cleaned up a little"? She said in a dejected manner" I guess that could help a little". "Ok begin wherever you want we got time". "I was out here with a friend when it happened a beast popped out of nowhere and ran it's claws through him". She started choking a little bit after that and was obviously crying but continued. "I then ran as fast as I could and I popped into you". She became very quiet, and she surprised me a little bit. "So why did you not kill me other than that guide remark"? "I uh I've been around a lot and seen many people some have been in similar situations and for me it is better to have friends than enemies". I was kind of surprised that she heard that but that was true so I asked a question. "I want to ask you but was that guy special to you". I was nervous because she could either start balling her eyes out or force me to remain silent and I don't like making people cry, who doesn't. She was very quiet but I heard it" He was my boyfriend". I instantly regretted asking that. Its bad enough knowing someone close died like that but it is going to break and scar her for years. And I heard the tears flow and they didn't stop for a while. It was a good bit of time since she started crying so I decided to check on her clothes if they wear dry. Her now green shirt was mostly clean and dry but you can never really get blood stains out. I checked on her brown pants too which is better than the shirt in terms of laundry standards. I said back to her near the fire" Your clothes are dry now if you want to leave we can leave whenever". Her response was fast. "Yes we should leave just give me some privacy". After hearing that I stood up and walked toward the river which was to her right where she was sitting. I walked past the bushes and stared at the river for a unknown amount of time. I heard her voice suddenly very loud" Hey I'm dressed you can stop staring into the river". I turned around quickly and saw her looking at me like I was dumb. "Why are you looking at me like that and why so close"? She was literally an inch from me and looked annoyed. "Because I've been trying to get your attention for a minute now". Now I looked dumb after all it is rare as hell for me to not notice anything like people and them yelling at me. I gave a her a short response" Okay I will snuff the flames and were out of here". I walked toward the fire and started emptying my canteen over it. After the fire died down I disassembled the logs and went back to the river to get more water. She offered me the blanket back but I pushed it back toward her and told her to keep it. I asked" So where and what is the name of the closest town"? She seemed to have just caught on that I have no clue where I am or the names of anything. "Oh the closest town is Riverside and I live there so I can guide you and we just follow the river upstream if your asking". She seemed oddly happy while saying that but I didn't care all that much. I grabbed my pack after I filled my canteen and picked up any discarded items and walked the direction she came from last night. I added quickly to that" We are going slightly into the forest to retrieve the body and you don't have say in that but you don't have to watch if you don't want to". I could hear her gasp from it and she asked a question. "Why can't we get the guards to do it that Demon might still be out there". I answered back quickly. "It might still be there but the guards have bigger things to worry about and besides you don't leave someone you care about behind living or dead". I looked back at her when I said that and she looked scared but there was a hint of determination under that scared demeanor. "I understand and by the way what is your name mine is Sarah". A pretty name for a young woman. "Mine is Jade and yes it's kind of ridiculous but that name is unisex no matter how much you argue". I heard her giggle a little bit but I didn't mind anything to help lift her spirits would help. After all we still need to get the body of a loved one before the animals devour it beyond recognition. "Why is it so hot I feel like I'm in a sauna without steam".I have always hated warm weather but this is really starting to piss me off. I have been walking with her for a while not to long since the sun didn't look to be in position for midday and the heat wasn't completely unbearable. It did help that I was asking Sarah some questions to pass the time and again this heat. I asked Sarah" So what is some interesting things in your town"? She was behind me so I couldn't tell what her face looked like but I did hear a "Hmmm" from behind. "I don't really know after all I have lived there my entire life so why don't you talk about some places you've been and see what might be interesting". I nodded. "Yeah that does seem good let's see, well my home is not nearly as hot as it is here for fall this place feels like an oven". Sarah answered in a worried tone" Well sir it is technically summer right now and fall isn't due for another month". I visibly stiffen and stop walking. She asks " Are you okay sir"? I didn't pay much mind because I'm currently trying to understand why the hell it is Summer when it was mid Fall. But It didn't hit me too much but what I asked next did. I turned around and grabbed a small pouch that was in one of my coat pockets and grabbed one of the few gold coins in it. I asked her" Is this a common currency and Jade is fine we've known each other a good bit of time". She takes it from my claw and inspects the tiny gold coin. She bites down on it and inspects the now somewhat noticeable teeth marks and, she hands it back to me. She then says" That is a gold coin you have it isn't common but it is worth more than copper and silver pieces, a lot more". I look at her in bewilderment I have been to many places but gold not being common is odd. But this proves it I am in a place I know little about. I ask her hesitantly" How much could this one coin get me". She put her hand to her head and does the math in her head. "If your looking at items it could get you wright wyvern and everything you need to raise one for a month, but for a room in an inn you could probably get to have one for a week if you skip the dinner they serve". I very visibly let my beak hang open and stare at nothing which unfortunately was actually staring at her. "Your kind of scaring me, no you are scaring me can you stop". When I hadn't stop she slapped me and I finally got out of my stupor of utter disbelief.What I have can get me a lot of things but now I have to rethink all of the value of my stuff, that will take a long time". "I'm going to hate the next few months". I say to no one except myself. I continue trudging onward until I finally realized I didn't know one of the examples she said. I said to Sarah" Wait what is a Wright wyvern"? I looked back at her and she stared back at me like I was an idiot. She sighs and decides to tell me what they are. "They are a bunch of flying lizards that look like dragons that deliver the mail around Medius". I looked back forward and continued to walk as I responded. "So you have dragons delivering your mail and this land is called Medius". I heard her hum in acknowledgement. I added under breath" I'm so drinking when I get to an inn". The rest of the journey was in relative silence until we got to a clearing with a lot of blood and a lone body. "You should not see this but you can so yeah it's your choice". She was silent when I dropped my pack and grabbed another one of my blankets and went over to check on the body. When I got there I kneeled over him and started examining him. He had four holes in his stomach region and all of it was precise and clean through, no bear would have claws that big and patience or precision to do something like this. I looked around and patted down his jacket he was wearing and felt something in one of its pockets. I pulled it out and saw I small black box that would probably hold a ring, And when I opened it there was one and it looked simple but it was all I needed. I uttered under my breath" Fuck this is really bad". I stayed that way for a bit until I heard her call. "Are y-you almost done"? with that said I put the box in my coat, and started to wrap him up. I put his arms on his stomach and started to wrap him in it when he was wrapped up fairly well I picked him and held him bridal style. I walked over to her and told her to try and carry my pack while I carry him. We walked in absolute silence. "Should I tell her she deserves to know, but she will be a mess for the entire walk. how about this I give it to her before my eventual departure she deserves to know just not right now".The walk continued for a while and all of it was in uncomfortable silence. The sun was right above our heads when we saw the first building. It was mostly wood except for a few pieces of stone around the bottom and it also seemed to be part of a road. I stopped walking and told her to drop my pack and to go find a guard. I had to stand there for a good minute until she came back with a group of guards and they all gave wary glances at me. I said" Here I hope you guys can take it from here". They nodded and I gave the body to one of the guards that had his hands outstretched. I asked" Is there any place that I can stay for the night or whenever"? One of the guards possibly the leader of this group responded. "Yes there is a inn called the Chipper mud skipper you can stay there if you want but we will come by to ask some questions got it". He pointed a finger at me but I didn't mind after all I'm in a really bad situation so yeah I was bound to get threatened in someway. He told me the directions to the inn and I went of without another word. When I got to the inn and entered it there wasn't anyone at the counter so I rang the bell which happily had a sign that read" Ring bell for service". I waited for a little bit until a young yellow haired man walked out the back with overalls on. He said in a fairly young voice" How can I help you"? I placed one of my gold coins on the counter. "Get me a room and I don't care about anything else if you ask". He inspected the coin and did the same thing Sarah did. He said slowly" Ok is it just a room and how long are you staying"? "I don't know how long I will be here but I will pay how long I'm staying". "Ok all I need is a name and you should be able to stay for five days just with this do you want change if you leave before then"? I sigh and continue" No I don't and my name is Jade". He pulls out a book and wrote my name down and a number along side it. And then gave me a iron key with a string and attached paper with the number three on it. "You will be in room three enjoy your stay". I walked off up stairs and just when I left I heard chuckling from down there. "Probably because of my name". When I got to a door with the number three on it I entered the door and was welcomed with a small room with a bed, dresser and mirror, with a another door that probably led to a bathroom. I dropped my pack down along with my coat and started going through my pack for a bottle and a glass. When I found the items I opened the bottle of Scotch and started drinking it from the glass I got out alongside it. My day continued like that for a while until I couldn't handle any more and I flopped on the bed and went to a quick sleep. "Why am I in a place like this"?