The Hunters and the Prey - Chapter Thirty-Six
Author: Milady Dragon
Steve found talking to Doctor Wilson – "Call me Sam, none of that doctor crap' – very pleasant. The half-Elf let him ramble on, making comments here and there but not making any judgments or assumptions. He was willing to answer any question Steve had, although some of those answers didn't quite make sense; when that happened, Sam did the best he could to explain what he'd meant.
Mainly, Steve had been interested in magic.
Luckily for him, Sam seemed to have a bit of knowledge in that area. While he wasn't a Wizard himself, the man could explain the history of and how magic had reemerged, and could go into a little detail on the Wizard's Guild and what it did exactly. He learned that Mistress Pepper was one of the more powerful Wizards in the Western Lands, hence her position at the head of Cardinal Order. Each country had their own Heads of Order, but Sam didn't know exactly how many that meant.
And, above all, were the three Grand Masters, all of whom he'd met: Ianto Jones, Stephen Strange, and Phil Coulson.
The whole three Orders thing, though. That was taking a little bit of getting used to, but he thought that was more to do with the fact that he'd always been taught that magic didn't exist anymore, and now there were all different types of it.
While Sam couldn't exactly explain what made Cardinal, Void, and Great Wizards different from one another – he'd thought it had had something to do with what sort of magic they had access to – Steve thought he could understand it with just the small bit of information he'd been given. After all, he'd been trapped within the Void; so there being two other forms of magic out there made sense in a way. He wasn't a Wizard, so he really didn't need all the details, as much as he might want them. Maybe he'd have to ask one of the Grand Masters at some point.
Back when he was from, there wasn't a lot of knowledge about magic. Sure, once in a while artifacts were found, like the Tesseract that the Skull had had, but it took a lot to get one to function the way it should. He'd heard rumors about a place over in the United Kingdom that collected lost artifacts, in order to keep them out of the wrong hands, but they hadn't obviously done such a good job there in the Western Lands if they hadn't managed to locate the Tesseract. So much horror and death could have been avoided if only someone had come looking for that damned thing, who hadn't had despicable intentions and wasn't out for total power.
The more he talked with Sam, the easier it became for Steve to accept that he'd been trapped within the Void for three hundred years. That certain knowledge also meant for the crash of grief to hit that much harder, to knock the wind physically from his lungs and to make him feel as if he'd been stabbed directly in the heart. Everyone he'd known…all dead and dust. The Commandos, Peggy…and, of course, Bucky, who'd died before Steve had been banished to the Void by the Skull.
That loss had been the one to make him face the Skull, alone.
Still, there was Jack Harkness. The Deathless, of all things. That had been completely unexpected. Jack had promised him he'd come back to visit, but they were in the middle of their Hydra hunt and he couldn't afford to be pulled away just now. Steve recalled the man who'd served in the regiment that had been support for the Commandos; he'd been a good soldier, with sword skills that had made some of the weapons' masters weep, and he hadn't been afraid to do what needed to be done. To be honest, Steve had actually considered him for the Commandos but, in the end, had realized that all he'd known about the man had been his combat skills, and the Commandos had been a very tightly knit group. Adding someone none of them really knew could have been a disaster waiting to happen.
So, Steve had put that choice aside until he could have gotten to know the man better.
And then, it had been too late.
He was glad that the war had been won, even though it had been done without him. To have awakened and found the Skull's disciples in charge would have been the stuff of Steve's nightmares. Still, Hydra had managed to survive in some way.
That bothered Steve a lot.
He wanted to help, but he didn't know enough about the world to actually do it.
Which was where Sam would come in.
"I really wouldn't mind getting out of here for a bit," he proclaimed, after they'd been talking for a while.
Sam cocked his head thoughtfully. Elves were something else that had been a surprise; they just hadn't seen that many of them back in his day. Gabe Jones, one of his Commandos, had been the only one he'd been personally acquainted with, and Gabe had claimed that his people really didn't leave their Enclaves all that often. The ears were fantastic, if he was honest with himself.
"I don't see a problem with that," his new friend said. "You know what you can and can't handle, so I expect you to tell me if you're having difficulties."
Steve agreed to that readily. Hopefully the world hadn't changed that much.
Well, except for the whole magic thing, but the Paladin didn't think that would be too noticeable, especially if there weren't that many Wizards out there yet.
"Besides," Sam went on, "we can't keep you hidden away. You'll never get acclimatized if you become some sort of hermit." He cracked a smile. "Although the pajamas you're wearing might not quite fit into polite society."
Steve glanced down at what he was wearing. When he'd come up to his room, he hadn't anticipated going back out again, and so he hadn't bothered to change out of his sleeping clothes. "I'm not sure what I have will work," he admitted, thinking about the tunic and trousers he'd had on under his armor. And, going out in full armor probably wasn't ideal.
"I'm sure whatever you have will be fine." Sam waved off his objection. "I'm also sure Mistress Pepper will have arranged for some sort of fund for you to find whatever you need until you can get on your feet. Baron Tony is notoriously generous, and so is his wife."
Now that Steve hadn't considered. He had nothing but the armor and weapons he'd come out of the Void with; as he could recall, he hadn't taken any money with him into battle.
"Get whatever you're thinking out of your head, Sir Steven," Sam commanded. "You're here not be choice, and you have people who are willing to help. Let them, until you can deal with where you are and how you're going to live now that you're here."
"If you're gonna tell me off like that, the least you can do is call me Steve."
Sam snorted. "Fine. Now, let's go bother Mistress Pepper and get you ready to go out. Change into whatever you have and we'll pick up some new stuff while we're in town."
That sounded like an excellent plan. Steve got up from his chair, hunted for the clothes he'd arrived into this time while wearing while Sam left to fetch Mistress Pepper.
He wasn't sure how he felt about accepting their charity but, at the same time, he really didn't have anything except his clothes and armor, his sword and his shield. From what he'd been able to discover, there weren't any wars currently going on, so he wasn't able to earn a living by fighting on whatever side he could agree with on principle. He really was at the mercy of people who'd decided he was worth helping.
He pulled on his undertunic and trousers, then laced up his boots. He played with the idea of taking his sword, and figured he most likely wouldn't need it. Barony Ferrous was at peace, so he doubted he'd need to protect either Sam or himself. It didn't hurt that Sam wasn't armed, as well. At least visibly.
By the time Sam returned, Steve was ready for his first outing in this brand new world he'd found himself in. To be honest, he was nervous, afraid that things had changed so much that he wouldn't be able to recognize anything he did see. Still, he'd never been a coward, and he knew he had to face the outside world or go insane, so he followed Sam out of the room, and then out of the house he'd awakened in, that belonged to the many-times great-grandson of his friend, Howard.
Of everything, meeting Baron Tony had been the hardest to reconcile. He just looked so much like Howard, it was almost frightening. Yes, there were differences, but enough was the same that it had threatened to kick in flashbacks whenever they were together…which had only been the once so far. Steve knew he needed to start accepting the Baron for his own person, and not someone who so much resembled that it felt like he was mourning all over again every time he looked at the man.
Castle Ferrous was at the top of a bluff that overlooked the ocean. A path ran from the front door into a place where people could park their carriages or leave their horses whenever they came to visit. A young boy was standing there, reins of two horses in his hands, and he passed them to Sam and Steve with a little grin, then headed around the house toward where the stables most likely were.
Well, at least the future still had horses. Steve had been half-expecting some sort of magical transportation that drove itself.
They mounted, and Sam led the way down the neatly-cobbled drive and toward Ferrous Town. From their vantage point, Steve could make out the town below. It curved about a deep water bay, ships at anchor out from shore and along several long piers that jutted out from rows of warehouses and what looked to be some sort of thoroughfare that led into the city proper.
The place itself was pretty large. It was a sprawling mass of buildings, the ones in the middle of town taller than the ones on the outer edges, roads snaking between them in lanes and wider streets in what appeared to be the business sections. Houses were closer set, the roads narrower and lined with tall trees, and were in the outer circles of the city.
It was a little larger than what Steve was used to, but then he'd been born in a smaller town on the eastern coast. The closest large city had been New Andrade, but he'd never been there, having been born into a poorer family with just his mother, and then later Bucky had practically adopted him as his best friend and shield brother.
Back then, Steve had been a scrawny kid with a penchant for picking fights with bullies two and three times his size. Bucky had always been getting him out of scrapes that could very well have done a lot of damage.
He really missed Bucky. He'd never believe that losing him hadn't been his fault.
He needed to be distracted, so he said, "I do appreciate you coming and talking to me."
Sam grinned. "Been my pleasure. Really."
"Just how did you know to come? I was told that someone would be contacted, but his name was Andrew, I believe..."
"Professor Andrew Garner is an old instructor of mine. I hadn't heard from him in years before he tracked me down and asked me if I'd come and assess you." He chuckled. "I'm pretty sure he thought you'd be eaten up with angst and grief and all that sort of emotional stuff."
"How do you know I'm not?"
Sam laughed. "True. Actually, I know you're confused and a bunch of other issues that I'm sure will rear their ugly heads at some point, but keeping you confined wasn't about to help you any. I get the feeling you would've broken out on your own if I hadn't agreed to coming along with you."
"You'd be right." Steve had thought he'd hidden that well.
"Don't blame you. You're an action-oriented sort of guy. It would only be a matter of time before you'd gotten sick and tired of Mistress Pepper and Baron Tony thinking they were doing you a favor keeping you away from the world and doing something about it."
Steve didn't say anything; he figured he didn't have to.
"Anyway," Sam continued, "when you showed up – I wasn't actually told anything about you, but that was for the best so I didn't have any sort of preconceptions – Andrew was asked to help you out. Since he'd been out of practice for about twelve years, he contacted me. He's still recovering himself, and didn't feel up to the task."
"Recovering?"
"Well, I don't suppose he'll mind if I share. Andrew accidentally activated a curse that messed him up. He's only just been cured."
"Magic just doesn't seem worth it," Steve exclaimed. Magic had put him in the Void for three hundred years; it had been used to nearly conquer the Western Lands. Now, he was hearing that it had hurt someone that Sam obviously respected. He was beginning to wonder what actual good it was for.
"Maybe," Sam allowed, "but without it, Andrew would never have gotten back to normal. It had been an artifact that had been discovered in someone's personal library, of all places. There'd been no telling how long it had been there. If not for Grand Master Ianto, he would have remained cursed for the rest of his life."
The main road going into Ferrous Town met up with the road they'd taken down from the castle, and the horses' hooves clopped smartly on the smooth-worn cobbles. Steve could see that the Baron obviously cared about such things as public works, and his opinion of Baron Tony – although he really hadn't gotten to know the man all that well so far – went up several notches. Making things easier for the residents and visitors to get around showed a level of caring for his people that not many really understood. Having grown up with dirt roads and half-collapsed wells, Steve was aware of just how important a thing it was.
It wasn't long before they were passing out of the residential areas and entering the business district. Shops lined the streets, carrying different types of necessities, novelty items, and luxury goods all displayed behind glass-fronted stores. Not far into town a large blacksmith compound took up an entire city block, heat rolling from the forges and the sounds of metal clanging against metal rang out over the street. Steve wanted to get down and check out the blacksmith's wares, and so he did, Sam right behind him.
Leading his borrowed horse over to the rail that separated the main work area from the street, Steve watched as the brawny smith worked his bright orange metal into shape, pounding strongly with a large hammer, face and shaved head glistening with sweat. To the side, a woman was working with more metal, her sleeveless tunic showing off well-muscled arms as she used what had to have been an even larger hammer on what was shaping up to be some sort of sword, her black hair pulled back from her face in a really sloppy ponytail.
There was a third man with curly blond hair who was making nails and other sundries, rolling molten metal into sharp points and tamping heads onto the ends. Steve was a little surprised that there were no jewelry makers in the group, but then he thought that must have been in another shop somewhere else that handled luxury goods.
"Good day," the woman said, even as she continued to work. "Are you looking for something in particular?"
"My friend here has a sword," Sam spoke before Steve could say a thing, "but I'm willing to bet he would appreciate a few knives."
The woman smiled, revealing slightly crooked yet white teeth. "We have the best knives and daggers in the city." It should have sounded boastful, but to Steve it was as if she was merely stating facts. "Our storefront is across the way," she took a moment to motion in the direction indicated with her hammer, "and Matt will be more than happy to help."
"Much obliged," Steve thanked her. Sam was right; he'd only had his sword; the knives he'd usually have carried had all been lost in battle.
Together, they crossed the street toward the shop the woman had pointed them toward. It was a large affair, all sorts of weapons displayed in its window along with a set of mail that was as fine as any Steve had ever seen. If their work was as good as this, he'd be bringing his own armor down to have it repaired. There were various dents and missing plates in it, so he'd need it taken care of before even thinking about fighting in it again.
Although, hopefully, he might not have to. But with Hydra out there, there was no guarantee that it could happen at some point.
The shop was cool and well-lit from both the large window and from glowing orbs on the walls, not quite like the ones he'd seen up at the castle. It was a little bigger than Steve thought it would be from the outside, and was well-stocked with anything he might have ever needed.
Weapons and armor shared space with nails and tools, each one well-crafted and displayed for best effect. A rack of spears sat next to another rack, this one filled with pikes and other pole weapons. Different types of armor were at the rear of the shop, along with what looked to be some sort of space that Steve thought might have been used to measure for custom-made articles. Everything was neat and well laid out.
Along one side of the shop was a wooden cabinet with a glass display area along the top, and was where the knives and daggers were kept. Steve gravitated toward it; not only were there knives, but there was also utensils and smaller tools, including several sewing kits with fine needles in various sizes within.
"Hello," a voice had Steve glancing toward the rear of the shop. A man had entered from the back room. He was wearing a wine red tunic and black trousers, a pale off-white dragon at his side. The way his eyes didn't seem to meet theirs told Steve that he was blind.
The dragon, a whipcord thin creature, took one look at Sam and launched at him. Steve hadn't been expecting that, and didn't have time to react before the dragon was climbing all over the half-Elf, Sam laughing as he twisted the dragon in his arms and began giving it belly rubs.
The Paladin took a deep breath, glad this wasn't some sort of attack.
"Dragons love Elves," Sam explained. "No one has figured out why."
The man – Wizard – gave them a wry smile. "That explains why Stick isn't being as well behaved as he usually is.
"You must be Matt," Sam greeted. "The lady smith told us to speak to you about my friend and his need for new knives."
"That's me." Matt made his way toward the display case with the ease of someone who knew exactly where everything was and could navigate the place without any trouble. "Jessica's not shy about sending people here, but then she loves it when people purchase her works."
"Then you should probably show us what she's responsible for forging," Steve finally spoke up. "I'd hate to disappoint the lady."
Matt laughed. "Oh, please call her a lady when I'm around. That would be really entertaining. She might even be so surprised she doesn't knock you to the ground."
Steve had to laugh as well. Some of the women warriors who'd fought with him – Peggy Carter among them – really would have decked him if he'd dared to call her a lady to her face. He was also positive Peg'd somehow find out he had, and punch him after the fact.
The Wizard began pulling different designs of knives and daggers from the display, laying them on cloths that were spread out on the glass for that purpose. Steve had to admit Jessica did good work; they were all well-balanced, and fit his hand as if they'd been forged especially for him. There were also fine throwing knives, especially the matching set of three that had hilts that were made of a deep red wood, highly polished, and yet they weren't slippery in his grasp.
He really wanted them, but didn't want to even ask the price.
Sam did it for him.
Then promptly began to haggle with the man behind the counter, even as he was letting the Wizard's dragon crawl all over him.
Steve was impressed.
Sam and Matt finally settled on something a little lower than what price had first been given. Sam had him throw in two boot daggers as well. "I have a letter of credit from Mistress Pepper," Sam explained. "I hope that's acceptable."
The smile he received was wide and happy. "Perfectly. After all, once it gets around we had Baronial guests in here, our business is bound to go up." He turned his head a little toward the back of the shop. "Foggy," he called out. He then turned his attention back to Sam and Steve. "My friend here will get the information on the letter for our bill."
"What?" an irritated voice shouted. "I was right in the middle of the accounts – "
The man who came out from the back of the shop stopped in his tracks, his pale eyes darting toward Steve and then Sam. His clothes were slightly rumpled, and even from where Steve was standing he could see ink stains on his fingers; he guessed this Foggy person was some sort of clerk.
"Um," he said, "oops?"
"Help me with this," Matt requested, amused. "They have a letter of credit they want to use."
Foggy bustled toward them. He was shorter and bulkier than his friend, Matt, and yet there was something sharp in his gaze that had Steve deciding he might have been a clerk now, but he'd been something different before he'd landed this job.
It was the same for Matt. He might have been blind, but he still moved like a fighter of some sort. Steve wondered how he'd lost his sight, but knew it would be rude to ask.
"Sorry," Foggy said sincerely. "Can I see the letter, please?" He reached under the counter as Sam took the letter from a pouch on his belt and handing it over. Foggy squinted a little, and then began to write in the ledger he'd grabbed, asking Matt what they'd decided on as price for the throwing knives and the two daggers and notating it in the ledger.
Once the transaction was complete and Steve's new weapons well wrapped up in leather in order to protect them – Matt had thrown in sheaths for the boot daggers as well – the Paladin said, "I have armor that needs some work. You think you could take on something like that?"
"That's Luke's bailiwick," Matt commented. "Bring it in and we'll have him take a look at it, give you a fair price."
"Sounds good. I will."
He and Sam were about to leave, after Sam had handed over the dragon, when Matt called them back. "I'm sorry if this is none of my business, but are you a Wizard?" His sightless eyes were on Steve when he asked. "If you are, it's…sorry, it's just me being curious, but you don't have a dragon and you don't feel like a Wizard, but there's a sense of the Void about you..."
Sam glanced at Steve, shrugging. Steven stepped back to the counter, saying, "I was just recently under a curse, but a Void Wizard brought me out of it." It was about as close to the truth as Steve could get without downright lying. Besides, what had happened to him had been as much of a curse as anything he could think of.
Matt nodded. "That explains it. Whoever did the removal did excellent work."
"It was the Void Grand Master, actually."
"Really. I'd heard we'd gotten a new one, but I haven't been to a Quorum in a while. It's not something I'm all that interested in, to be honest."
"You did get another summons," Foggy pointed out. "I'm assuming you're going to ignore that one as well."
"Yep, most likely."
From the conversation he'd had with Grand Master Phil, that summons was most likely to get the Wizards together in order to root our Hydra from their ranks. "You should go," Steve blurted. "It's important that you go." He didn't think this Wizard was Hydra; they'd been into personal perfection, and the last thing they'd do was recruit someone who was sightless, but it was now obvious that the man was a Void Wizard. It would be best if he was cleared of any wrongdoing, and no one could come back and suspect him later on.
Matt gave him a shrewd look. "I think you know exactly what's behind this summons."
"I do, but it's not my place to say anything."
The Wizard was nodding. "I can understand that. Hm."
"Maybe you should do," Foggy mused. He was also regarding Steve shrewdly, and there was the man the Paladin had guessed existed under the slightly bumbling clerk persona. "If it's that important."
"I know you have no reason to trust me," Steve said, "but it's imperative that you attend the next Quorum."
"And here I thought it was just to recognize the new Grand Master."
"I can assure you, it's not." Steve had gotten the distinct impression that Grand Master Phil hadn't cared a single jot about that sort of recognition. "I can't go into detail, but something big is happening. You really need to be there for it."
Sam was giving him a knowing glance, but then he'd discussed Hydra with him so he knew what Steve was trying not to say. If he was wrong, and for some reason Hydra had decided to go against their usual rhetoric and recruit someone who was blind, it wouldn't do to give so much away. It would conceivably tip Hydra off, and while Steve didn't know what any of the Grand Masters had planned, Hydra could attempt to prepare their mole in some way that would defeat whatever way the three men had worked out to expose Hydra in the Void ranks.
Sam bustled them both out of the shop after that, saying their goodbyes and promising that Steve would bring his armor in to have Luke give them an idea of what it would take to repair it. Steve had already said more than he should have, and he knew it, but at the same time Hydra needed to be rooted out, and if getting Matt to go cleared him, then that would be for the best.
They got their horses and, after Steve had put his new bundle into one of his saddlebags, this time they eschewed riding, walking along the road and deeper into town. But Steve's thoughts were now a million miles away, knowing he'd done the right thing and yet worried that he'd overstepped.
"You didn't," Sam assured him. "We need to figure out Hydra, and getting Master Matt to the Quorum is the best way to either clear him or condemn him. Honestly, I think it would clear him. He didn't strike me as being someone who'd be drinking the Hydra sweet wine, as it were."
Steve had to agree.
"Now," his new friend declared, "let's get more shopping done. Mistress Pepper gave me orders to get you as much as you need, no matter the cost."
The Paladin shook his head. He resolved to pay them back as soon as he could, but he really didn't have a lot of choice at the moment. He needed things, and the Baron and Mistress Pepper were willing to help him. He would lean on them until he could be self-sufficient.
However, he fully intended on helping out against Hydra in any way he could.
Steve just had to figure out how that was going to work.