Thomas

A young man comes to Karkarmach to become an adventurer.

Thomas stood by his mother’s grave as they slowly lowered her into the ground.  They lay his father’s coffin beside hers as they planted him.  His father would have liked that Thomas thought.  The old man had always told the boy that his father and grandfather and as far back as anyone could remember had been farmers.  Their farm which had been in his family for generations was now in the hands of a new family as Thomas said goodbye to his parents and prepared to pursue his own dreams.

The money from the sale of the farm had been enough for a sword and armor, the best the smith had to offer with just enough left over to bury his parents.  He was leaving as soon as the funeral was over.  He would go to Karkarmach, The City of The Gods and become an adventurer.  He glanced over at the old plow horse and not for the first time wish he had enough to buy a younger fitter mount, but that would have to wait a little while.

He tuned the priest’s words out as he thought about all the adventurers he had met over the years.  Brave men and women off to some far-off place seeking fame and fortune.  They had all said an adventurer worth his salt came from Karkarmach so that was where he would go.  It was eight days away, maybe ten with how slow the plow horse was, but he would go there and find adventure.

As the ceremony ended Thomas hurried to his horse and mounted before any of his relatives could approach him.  He didn’t want to hear how disappointed they were in him and how he would come to a bad end.  He got the horse moving and again wished he had bought a better horse.

 

Coming over a rise he saw it in front of him, the tall white walls that seemed to shine in the morning sun.  He smiled and forgot all about the extra time it had taken him to reach here on such an old nag.  It still took most of the morning to reach the gate, but with his goal in sight, he relaxed.  He was finally here and soon he would be rubbing elbows with true adventurers.  He had already planned it all out.  He would impress some more experienced adventurer who will take him on an adventure with them.  He would save their lives and earn their respect and from there it would only be a matter of time before he was famous.  He was so caught up in his daydream of the future that he didn’t notice he had reached the gate until a guard in black lacquered armor grab the bridle of his horse.

“Let me guess, you are here to be an adventurer.”

Thomas smiled.  “Of course.  I heard this is the place to go if you wanted to become a famous adventurer.”

The guards laughed.  “Well, greenie you will want to head to the Perfume district and find The Wench.  You will meet real adventurers there.   Stable your horse; only official mounts are allowed in the city.”

“Thank you.”  Thomas quickly dismounted and lead his horse into the city to the nearby stables.

 

Thomas dropped the coins he had gotten for the nag into his belt pouch as he considered what they had told him of the city.  The adventurers made their home in the part of the city called the Perfume district or The Stench; it was down by the docks.  The problem was the quickest route to that area was through the inner city and they restricted access to that area.  He was going have to go the long way around.  He shouldered his pack and headed out.  The directions the stable master had given him were good.

He walked along trying not to stare at the splendor of the city.  He spotted the inn the stable master had mentioned and was looking for the next landmark when he bumped into a large dark-skinned man with a sword on his back.

“Hey, watch where you are going, kid.”

Thomas tilted his head back to look up into the man’s face.  “I’m sorry, sir.  I’m new and looking for the docks.  Someone told me there is a tavern there where the adventurers hang out.”

“The Wench boy, that is the place you are looking for and it just so happens I’m headed there.  I’ll show you the way.”

“Thank you.  I’m…” Thomas thought of all the heroes from stories and they always had cool names, “I’m Hawk.”

“Hawk really, I think there is about a dozen or so Hawks in town currently.”

“Really, is it a common name?”

“Every greenie picks what they think of as a cool name.  Wolf is probably more popular currently.  About five years ago it was variations of dragon.  Every other adventurer back then was a Draco or Dragoon or some nonsense like that.  I’m Garret, Garret Bodkin, not as cool as Hawk or Wolf or any of the other names you kids come up with, but hey a name isn’t important when you are in the middle of a dungeon all alone.  So, Hawk, how old are you?”

Thomas puffed out his chest and pushed his shoulders back.  He was big and broad with plenty of muscles from working on a farm.  “I’m eighteen.”

“If you say so, but I got you pegged at sixteen or maybe a few months shy of that.  Your parents know you are here,” Garret asked as they walked along?

“They are both dead.”

“Sorry to hear that.  If you don’t want to join them quickly, I would advise learning to use that blade on your hip.”

“I know how to use it.”

“Sure kid.  Listening to a few stories and watching some caravan guard practice isn’t enough.  Find someone to actually teach you.”

Thomas put his head down.  This wasn’t turning out like he thought it would.  This guy had made fun of his name, figured out he wasn’t eighteen and even called him on his skill with a sword.  Thomas thought about leaving heading back to the village and maybe finding a job on another farm.  He knew the work, and it was hard, but at least there weren’t people trying to kill you.

 

The Wench looked like an old warehouse from the outside which wasn’t surprising since it had once been one or, so Garret told him as they approached the tavern.  Thomas stopped as he saw the sign above the door.   It was faded, and weather-beaten, but you could still make out the image of an almost naked serving girl holding a mug.  Around the image, in the common tongue, it gave the place’s name as The Raunchy Wench Tavern and W***e House.  Thomas swallowed and hurried to catch up with Garret.

“So, Mr. Bodkin you are an experienced adventurer, could I maybe become like your apprentice?”

“Kid, the kind of work I do takes a special person and frankly you are too nice to do it.  I have to take care of some stuff now so I’ll give you one last piece of advice.  Stay away from the card games.”

As Garret headed for the doorway in the back Thomas looked around and saw many of the working women smiling at him.  He ducked his head trying not to blush as he headed for the back.  He found a table in a dark corner and sat down.  He had a lot to consider.  The stories never mentioned places like this or the need to train.  The heroes in the stories always just picked up a sword and went off on their adventures.

 

Thomas was still sitting there when a short dark man approached him.  He was the first person to do so since he had sat down.

“Care to join me, my friend, there is plenty of room.”

“There is plenty of room because this table is mine.  You only sit at it if I invite you or you have business to discuss with me.  Since I didn’t invite you, it must be business, who do you want me to kill?”

The boy turned pale as he looked up at this man who had the look of someone that looked death in the eye too often to count.  He stood up, knocking his chair over in his haste.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“Relax kid, I won‘t kill you.  I have business to conduct, but afterward you are welcome to join me.”

Thomas jumped up and headed for the door.  He was headed home, he would sell the stuff he bought.  It would take longer walking, but he could get home just in time for the spring planting.  He was halfway down the block when he stopped.  He couldn’t run away, he had come so far for his dream.  Turning on his heels he headed back to The Wench.

There was another man at the table with the short dark man, he was wearing a plain brown cloak pulled tightly about himself, but Thomas saw the flashes of purple through the rips and tears in it.  The man was in disguise which was strange in a city where few really cared about decency and honor.  Thomas watched as the men exchanged words and finally the short dark man received a piece of parchment from the other.  The man in the brown cloak left and Thomas approached.

“Can I join you now?”

The dark man laughed.  “No greenie has ever come back to take me up on my offer before.  Have a seat, the drinks on me, but I should tell you I’m a killer.”

Thomas’ hand shook as he pulled out the chair.  “What do you mean killer?”

“I’m an assassin kid.”

“Where are the heroes?  None of you,” Thomas spread his hands as if to take in everybody in The Wench, “are like the heroes of the stories.”

“What can I say, real life is never like the stories.  A hero is just somebody that does something amazing and somebody else talks about.  I have a few stories floating around about me, of course, I’m not an assassin in them.  I’m Vrik by the way.”

“Wolf, I mean Hawk.”

“Wolf or Hawk, which one?  With your size, I would think you would go with Bull or Bear, but that is just me.”

“Okay, I’m Thomas, Thomas MacTarnish.”

“That is a good name, stick with it kid.”  Vrik waved a serving girl over and got two beers.  “Do you have any idea how to use that blade?”

“No, not really.  I want to be an adventurer, but I now realize I know nothing.”

Vrik laughed.  “I like you kid so I’ll teach you to use that sword.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, kid.  See few people want to be seen with me.  It gets lonely, so you hang out with me and I’ll teach you to sword fight.  I’ll even introduce you to a few people when you are ready.”

“Thanks.”

“You want to thank me be at the practice yard at first light and be ready to work.”

Thomas nodded smiling.  He still had dreams of becoming a hero from the stories, but he realized that to do that he would need to learn a lot.

 

***

 

“NO!” Vrik stormed over and pushed him back from the practice dummy.  “That isn’t an axe in your hands boy and this …” he slapped the practice dummy “isn’t a tree.”

“You said to attack it.”

“That is a longsword boy one hand on the hilt.  Strike with the edge, you were hitting the dummy half the time with the flat of the blade.”

“I’ll do better.”

“Show me.”  Vrik walked back out of the way.

Thomas took a deep breath and attacked the dummy again.  He tried to only use the edge of the sword but by the third strike it shifted in his grip and he hit with the flat on the fourth.  He tried to adjust his strike for the fifth and fumbled his sword.

“Maybe a sword isn’t your weapon.  I will take you to somebody who knows more about weapons than anybody else I know.  He will teach you about the handling of them and maybe if you are lucky tell you which weapon would be the best for you.”

“I don’t have money for a new weapon.”

“We will work something out boy.  I’m not going to have you go into battle with a weapon you are unsuited for and end up dead.  People will think it was my training, I have a reputation to think of.  Get your stuff, I have a job so I will take you to Harold now.”

Thomas ran and grabbed his cloak before he hurried after Vrik.

 

The old man was just opening his shop when they arrived.  His humped back barely hampered his movements as he stoked the fire in his forge.  “Vrik, been a while.”

“Don’t want to sully your good name by hanging out here all the time my old friend.”

The old hunchback laughed.  “Do you really think I care what anybody thinks?  They don’t come to me because I’m a nice person, they come because I make the best damn steel in all of Karkarmach.”

“That you do.  That is sort of why I’m here.  My young friend here needs to learn about weapons, and also he is not a sword user so if you might give me an idea of what weapon would fit him best.”

Harold looked Thomas over.  “A hoe, or maybe a shovel.”

“He grew up a farmer, but he wants to be an adventurer.”

“Boy, listen to me, adventurers they die horrible painful deaths.  Farmers they usually don’t so go be a farmer.”

“I want to be a hero like in the stories.”  The words sounded laughable to Thomas now, but it was all he had.

Harold looked at Vrik, “the boy understands there aren’t any heroes like bards make up, doesn’t he?”

“I’ve tried to explain that to him, but he is stuck on this idea.  He just goes on and on about it.”

“Leave him with me for the day, I could use somebody to work the bellows and I’ll try to talk sense into him.”

“He is yours.  Thomas, do what Harold says, he will educate you on weapons and maybe on smith as well.  Every adventurer should know a little of that.”

“Okay, I’ll see you at The Wench later?”

“If you don’t then the job went badly.”  Vrik turned and walked away.

“You ever work a forge before boy?”

“No, and my name is Thomas.”

“Like I’m supposed to remember that.  Boy will do until you prove yourself.”

 

Thomas finished pulling the last shutter into place and Harold locked it.  “Could use your help again tomorrow.  You may want to pay a visit to the public bathhouse before heading back to The Wench.”

Thomas took a good whiff of himself and nodded.  “I have to practice with Vrik, but as soon as I’m done I’ll be here.”

“Then see you tomorrow and think about what I said about a war hammer boy.”

Thomas headed to the public bathhouse.  He had never visited one before and the stories of them had made him a little nervous, but he stank.  He considered Harold’s advice about using a war hammer to take his mind off the bathhouse.

Paying the single coin, it cost to enter they gave Thomas a key.  He quickly found his locker and stripped off his clothes.  The public bathhouse offered baths and a laundry service for the single coin making their money in bulk instead of price.  He stashed his valuables in his locker and dumped his clothes at the laundry.  The main area of the bathhouse were huge marble pools, but they also had steam rooms to help you sweat the dirt out.

Thomas found it hard to look at the men and women who wandered around naked so he looked at the floor as he found a steam room.  He relaxed as the billowing clouds of vapors obscured him and those around him.  He had no clue how the ritual worked and watched the others for clues.  Back home he would bath in the creek and always alone, he had never seen another person naked before today.  His heart beat faster and he had to keep his eyes down as he moved from the sauna to the sandpit to rub fine sand over his body.  Next came the shower and finally he was at the huge marble pool.  He slid into the water finding it warm and soothing to his tired and sore muscles.

He was leaning back against the side when he saw her across the pool.  She was in a sheer white toga of an attendant of the bathhouse.  With long black hair braided down her back, she looked like an angel as she helped an elderly woman from the pool.  He watched her until she glanced his way.  He put his head down quickly and got out.  He was embarrassed and hurried to the get his clothes when she appeared at his shoulder.

“Would you care for a massage?”

“Ah… I don’t know, I should be going.”

“You look tense this will help you relax.”

Thomas had no clue what a massage involved, but he wanted to spend time with this girl.  He wanted to talk to her and possibly get to know her.  He stole a glance at her and nodded.

“Follow me.  I should tell you I’m new so I’m only learning.  I can get someone else if you prefer.”

“No!”  Thomas blushed as he noticed people looking at him.  “I mean no, you need to practice, don’t you?”

 

Aileen worked the scented oils into his muscles as he laid on his stomach.  Thomas tried to think of something to say, he opened his mouth, but as he was about to speak the words sounded so stupid he closed it again.  He considered talking to her about his dream of being an adventurer and doing such amazing things he would become a hero and legend, but just as he was about to say it he realized she wouldn’t be interested in that.

“You worked on a farm before you came here didn’t you?”

“How did you know?”

Aileen giggled, “I didn’t read your mind.  It is that scar on your leg.  My dad had one just like it.  He once told me he got it from using a scythe when he was just a boy.”

“I got mine when I was six.  My mom nearly killed me after they found out I wouldn’t lose my leg.  So, your dad was a farmer?”

“He is a farmer, he is back on the farm while I’m here with my mother.  She got sick and we came here for her treatments.”

“So why are you working in a bathhouse?”

“It was the only job I could get, and it helps to pay for my mother’s treatments.  I so miss the farm, the open fields and working in them.  It was a lot harder work, but it was so much more enjoyable than this.”

Thomas stayed silent listening to her talk about her family’s farm and how much she missed it.  All her talk about her family’s farm was making him miss his family’s farm.  He even regretted selling it.  She did most of the talking as she worked on his muscles with him asking questions.  He wanted to know all there was to know about this girl.

 

Thomas dropped into the chair across from Vrik and signaled the serving girl for a mug.  “I met a girl at the bathhouse.  She is so nice and pretty.  Her family owns a farm, but she came to the city since her mother had to come here for treatment.”

“Boy, you have been bitten by love.  That is the worse thing that could ever happen to an adventurer.”

“I’m not in love.  I just like her, she is nice to talk to.”

Vrik laughs and downs his mug of beer.  “You are just too thick-skulled to realize it yet. Here is what you do,” Vrik dug a few coins from his pouch and dropped them on the table, “go upstairs and hire yourself a woman.  They will make you forget this girl, it is for the best.”

“I don’t want to forget her.  She is a very good person.”

“Nice, good, pretty, you really are in love boy, so you best take these coins and get your medicine before you decide you no longer want to be an adventurer.”

Thomas slammed his mug down before leaving, the coins remained on the table where Vrik had dropped them.

 

Thomas never spoke to Vrik of Aileen again, but he took every opportunity to see her he could.  He continued his training with the killer and even worked with Harold, but he thought more and more of a farm and a life with Aileen.  He felt torn between the girl and his dream not sure of which would make him truly happy.  Until the night he entered the bathhouse one night to find Aileen beaming with joy.

“My mother’s treatments have worked and in two days we will be going home.”

“Two days, that is sudden.”

“I know but I want to get back to the farm.  You will have to find another girl when I leave.”

“I… I… I don’t think I want another girl Aileen.  I want you.”

“What are you saying, Thomas?”

“I understand I will have to speak to your father and do it properly, but I wish to marry you.”

“I’m a farm girl Thomas, I could never marry an adventurer.”

“I’m a farm boy Aileen, I was lying to myself this whole time.  I don’t want adventure, I want a simple life working a piece of land.”

A simple kiss was all they shared that night, but they promised each other that they would marry as soon as Aileen’s father blessed the marriage.  Thomas was happy as he made his way back to The Wench.  He didn’t want to tell Vrik of his decision, but the man deserved to know.

 

Vrik was happy about the news and he insisted the two of them share a drink, then another.  By the fifth drink, Thomas had forgotten all about bed and just sat with Vrik drinking through the night.  It was early the next morning when he woke face on the table.  Vrik wasn’t there and Thomas figured he was at the training field.  He had two days he may as well learn what he could in that time.  Getting up he stumbled slightly heading for the door.

A dusty man with a sword on his hip came in just as Thomas tried to leave and they collided.  Thomas went down and began to struggle back to his feet just as he heard a sword being drawn.