Chapter Seven

Crossing Trails

After a few days of travel Marith and her party arrived at Tor. The town was small, and the tallest building in it was the church whose steeple towered over the rest of the buildings. They entered the city and headed for the tavern. Marith stayed outside with the horses and took them around to the stable. Marith stopped in the doorway and cocked her head listening while she heard sobbing. Leading the horses forward Marith found a beautiful young woman with golden hair curled up in the corner of the horses stall her shoulders shaking with grief.

Marith let go of the horses’ reigns and went over to the young woman and knelt by her side. “Are you, all right?” she asked resting a hand on the young woman’s back.

The woman started from the unexpected touch and started to get up, but then she saw Marith’s tabard and holy symbol and went back to crying. “I…I… I’m fine,” she got out.

“What’s your name?” Marith asked kindly.

“Arora,” the young woman got out between her sobs.

“And why are you crying here in the stables?” Marith asked.

“Do you promise you won’t tell anyone?” Arora asked.

“Of course,” Marith assured her.

“I’m pregnant,” Arora answered drawing her knees up to her chest.

Marith’s heart went out to the young woman instantly understanding her plight. Having a child out of wedlock was a black mark on a woman, and she might be cast out of her family and finding a suitable husband would become impossible. “How did it happen?” Marith asked.

“I thought, I though he loved me,” Arora said and then laughed scornfully at herself. “It was stupid of me I barely knew him. But he saved our town, and he was handsome, strong and confident, and I thought that I could win his heart, become the fair maiden of the adventure,” she cried bitterly.

Marith felt at a loss and clutched her holy symbol and prayed for guidance but none came. “I have two children,” Marith told Arora. “I love them very much, its why I became an adventure to make sure they were provided for.”

“And your husband?” Arora asked. “Doesn’t he take care of them?”

“He got himself killed,” Marith answered. “Have you told your parents yet?” she asked.

“No!” Arora said her eyes flying wide in panic. “He’d have me run out of town for being a whore, father is very strict and follows the teachings of Melgar very seriously; I would be lucky if I weren’t stoned. I have to run away.”

“Where too?” Marith asked.

Arora’s shoulders sagged even deeper. “I don’t know, Tor is the only place I’ve ever known, I don’t have any family anywhere else that would take me in.”

“My party and I won’t be here for much longer you are welcome to journey with us,” Marith said.

“You would do that for me?” Arora asked.

“Of course,” Marith said pulling Arora close and hugging her feeling her wet, tear-stained hair against her neck. “Your welcome to journey with us for as long as you want. It will be hard traveling, but I’ll see if we can find your work and a home someplace.”

“Thank you,” Arora wept and hugged Marith back fiercely.

Marith stabled the horses and walked back to the tavern where Carl came out with a big smile on his face.

“Good news! The innkeeper remembers the party we’re after they came through here and caused a bit of a ruckus. They made a deal with some mysterious character man here and were delivering his supplies to Nomm, the innkeeper even remembered what inn they were taking them too,” Carl exclaimed raising a fist which Marith bumped with her own smiling at Carl’s exuberance.

“That’s good, we’re taking someone with us when we leave,” she said.

Carl’s brow wrinkled in confusion, “What, why?” he asked.

“Because she can’t stay here, trust me Carl the rest of the party might not like this, but this is something that I need to do,” Marith assured him.

“Very well,” Carl said blowing out a big breath. “I really hope this doesn’t make trouble for us.”

“So, do I,” Marith said under her breath.

The party slept at the inn and ate in the standard room the next morning and then got up and saddled their horses. Marith looked around and surreptitiously saddled an extra pack horse. Arora slipped into the room with a small bag over her shoulder. She climbed into the saddle, and they set out. The rest of the party made no comment and didn’t even look askance at the woman Carl having brought them up to speed last night. They got on the road but were blocked by the innkeeper who stood in the way with ten other men.

“I don’t know what you’re doing with my daughter, but she’s to get off that horse immediately!” the innkeeper called out angrily. “We don’t take kindly to kidnapping here, leave and don’t step foot near Tor again.”

“Your daughter is here under her own free will,” Marith called out resting her hand on the head of her war-hammer.

The innkeeper looked stunned. “Is that true Arora?” he asked, pain audible in his voice.

“I’m pregnant father,” Arora said dropping the bombshell she had been carrying.

The man’s face paled and then darkened with anger. “It was that sheriff wasn’t it?” he asked his finger’s whitening on his spear. “Bloody adventurers you can never trust them! And you,” he said directing his fury at his daughter, “how could you whore yourself to one of them?”

“I thought he…,” Arora began trembling with emotion from her father’s words.

“I should have you stoned for what you’ve done,” her father said his face twisted in rage as he advanced with his spear.

Marith pulled her hammer free and pulled on her horse's reins blocking the innkeeper’s path. “Stand aside man,” Marith ordered.

“Get out of my way,” the innkeeper growled.

“No, I am taking your daughter with us now stand aside,” Marith commanded again.

The innkeeper stabbed into the horses flank, and it reared screaming. The innkeeper stepped to the side and pulled back his arm to throw his spear through Arora’s belly. Marith leaped off the horses back and tackled the man. They rolled in the mud on the road as they hit each other. The innkeeper was much stronger than Marith, his natural male strength combined with years of carrying heavy’s casks and maintaining a tavern had built him healthy, but Marith’s training and heavy armor blocked his meaty fists. Marith whispered a spell and wave of force like that a hurricane tossed the innkeeper away.

The man grabbed his fallen spear and charged Marith. Marith ducked his spear and swung her Warhammer two-handed into his chest. She could hear the visceral sound of bone snapping and shattering, blood spurted out, and the man collapsed. Town’s folk stepped back in horror looking at Marith’s blood-splattered face and the dead man in the road.

Marith wiped off her hammer and face and muttered a quick spell healing her horse’s wound. She pulled herself back into the saddle, and the party left the town of Tor behind them.