~The Librarian~
Gabin hunched his shoulders against the driving rain, his features protected and shrouded by an ancient hat that had long since lost its form. The streets were empty do to the late fall rain and had been for the past three days.
He stomach rumbled a painful reminder that the weather had also hampered his meals.
He paused in a doorway and glared out at the rain. A particularly vicious gust of rain whipped rain into his little shelter.
Hunching his shoulders more he debated giving up the quest for a mark and head back to the small room he shared with four other boys.
Through the curtain of rain he could see a lone figure, hunched against the weather with a cloak pulled tight about their body.
His stomach rumbled again, urging him out into the rain. He drew back into the shadows and waited for them to pass.
Instead they made straight towards him.
He looked around frantically for an escape route and prayed they were simply heading to the door down from him.
The Gods were not with him.
The figure stepped into the doorway and jumped when they saw Gabin hiding in the shadows.
"Oh, I must be running late. I'm sorry you were stuck in the rain." She said in a soft, welcoming voice. "Give me a moment and I will have a fire roaring." She stepped past him and started unlocking the door. Her basket was between them, Gabin glanced at the basket then at her. It would be too easy for her to see his movements and in this rain with his luck he would slip on the slick cobblestones and bash his head in.
"Can you believe this rain?" She asked conversationally as she opened the door and gestured him inside. Everything was in shadow but he thought he saw a cluster of chairs in the corner. He had never noticed this shop in all his wanderings and to be open when everyone else in the area was sitting down to supper was most unusual.
Gabin wandered off trying to see anything worth lifting.
The woman knelt by a cold hearth and expertly lit the logs awaiting her. "Were you outside long?"
"No, not long." He said as he tried to see what was on the shelf.
"It should be a quiet night." She continued as she set her basket on the counter and removed her cloak to reveal a slender form in a plain brown dress with only a few discreet repairs. Her hair was a thick, dark brown captured in a braid that hung down her back. She busied herself collecting something from beside the counter, leaving him to take a closer look at shelves. He was surprised to see they were filled with books! There was little demand in Exile's Gate for books, who could afford them even if they wanted them?
"I don't recognize you." The woman commented as she hung what appeared to be unlit lanterns over the chairs in the corner and on chains hung from the ceiling scattered about the room. "Is this your first visit?"
"Uh, yeah." Gabin said as he tried to look innocent. For the first time he actually looked at the woman. She was about a decade his senior with refined features and brilliant blue eyes.
"Well, feel free to read whatever you wish." She invited him. "You can move a chair closer to the fire if you wish."
He continued to watch her out of the corner of his eye, pretending to read the spines of the books, as she lit the lanterns, chasing the shadow away and giving the room a warm, comforting atmosphere.
"Would you like some tea?" She asked.
He turned to stare at her. Tea was rarely heard of in this area of town.
"It's my private stash." She admitted.
"Uh…sure." He said uncertainly.
"Have a seat next to the fire and dry off." She suggested as she collected a kettle and filled it from a pitcher of water kept behind the counter. "Not many people come yet, but I'm certain it will pick up soon."
"What kind of shop is this?" Gabin asked finally.
"It's not a shop. It's a library. Since no one down here can afford a book and everyone deserves to read we opened this library." She explained. "Better than those dry holy books that the temples offer. We only ask for donations when fate treats you kindly."
"And you don't sell the books?" Gabin asked in confusion.
"Who would buy them?" She asked as she hung the kettle over the fire. "Is there any type of book that interests you?"
"I never thought about it." Gabin admitted. The heat from the fire was slowly banishing the chill from his bones.
"May I make a suggestion?" She asked as she stepped over to a shelf.
"Sure." Gabin said as he watched her peruse the shelf and returned with a volume that was rather tattered with leather bindings. Any other shopkeeper would have assumed he was up to no good if they found him lurking in the doorway. That she had not assumed the worst was surprising and made him hesitate to prove her wrong.
"Try this one." She suggested. "It is an adventure tale. One of my favorites."
"Thank you." He said as he accepted the book and opened it to the first page.
She left him alone, busying herself reshelving books and sweeping as the water heated for tea. He was surprised when she disturbed him to offer a mug of hot, spicy smelling tea that quickly banished the last of the chill from his bones. He was even more surprised when she offered fresh buns with cheese and meat, these he devoured quickly, grateful that she never commented on his obvious hunger.
The book she offered him was of a Herald, one of the dreaded white coats that easily brought down many a thief. Only instead of catching thieves the Herald in question was actually captured by an evil mage. At first he barely skimmed the pages but then the story pulled him in and he became oblivious to everything.
It was with great reluctance that he left when the woman closed the library. She even gave him a piece of green ribbon to mark his place in the book and offered to keep it behind the counter until he returned.
His second visit was nearly a week later. The weather had improved and he had lifted several purses that day so it was not hunger or weather that drove him to seek out the library again. She smiled as he entered and held out his book, still marked with the green ribbon.
"I was hoping you would return." She greeted him.
"Been busy." He said as he took a seat next to the fire. There were three others present that evening, two older men and a woman he had seen working the street were scattered about in the room, each with a book.
She brought him a mug of tea almost immediately as well as a cheese and meat bun.
He thanked her absently and read the book avidly. When one of the men walked past him looked up and noticed he was the last person left. The woman was gathering up the books and humming to herself.
"Would you like some help?" He asked uncertainly.
She looked up. "Are you done the book?"
"Not quite." He marked the page and left it on the counter and gathered up the books that had been left haphazardly on the shelf.
"What do you think of the book?" She asked as she set the last of the books on the counter.
"It's good. If a little farfetched." He shrugged.
"Actually, it's a true tale." She informed him. "It occurred over a thousand years ago. It is one of the books that are being reprinted now that magic is no longer forgotten."
"It's true?" Gabin looked doubtful.
"I swear, it is." She assured him. "Ever heard the Wind rider trilogy? That is the same story. The Heir to the crown was taken captive and Shadowdancer and Sunsinger came to his rescue."
"Who'd want to be a Herald if they risk getting taken captive?" Gabin asked with scorn.
"Some people are born wanting to help others." She shrugged. "It is just their nature."
Gabin shrugged, not wanting to disagree with his tentative friend. "Never met a Herald."
She smiled slightly and busied herself straightening the piles of books. "Do you think that the Heralds just ignore Exile's Gate?"
"Why would they come here? It's not like we matter to anyone important." He said with bitterness.
She glanced around, as if searching for listeners. "I hear that Heralds come down here all the time. They don't wear their uniforms, of course. But they watch. Think of how many tales you have heard of some stranger coming to the rescue of someone who is getting mugged. Most people down here couldn't careless so I think that it has to be Heralds."
Gabin frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe."
"Don't stay away so long this time." She said as she started extinguishing the lanterns.
"I won't." He swore as he headed for the door.
It was only four days before he showed up again. Again she brought him tea and buns, this time he noticed he was the only one who was offered any. When she started closing up he helped her with gathering the books again, this time noting the titles. A few were obviously tales from a bard's fevered imagination but a few were genuinely useful books such how to tie knots or to train a dog to hunt rats. The one for training dogs he held up to the librarian.
"Why dogs?" He asked.
"Small dogs are actually ideal for catching rats, much better suited than cats. The man reading that one is planning on starting himself a little business offering to flush rats out of warehouses for a price." She explained. "He should do quite well. He injured his leg rather badly last time he was caught by the watch and can't out run them anymore so he needs a different means to support himself."
Gabin set the books on the counter and headed to the door.
"There are a few extra buns tonight, would you care for them?" She asked before he reached the door.
"Don't you need them?" He asked in confusion.
"No. I have a steady day job and I am not wanting for food. I bring extras everyday for the children." She explained. "Since fate favors me at the moment I see no reason not to share."
Gabin accepted the bundle of food. "Where do you work?"
"I work as a maid in the Elluen household during the day. My master is a scholarly man and supports the idea of this library so he lets me spend my evenings here." She explained.
Gabin was surprised, the Elluen house was notoriously rich. "Why would you want to work down here? Don't you know what can happen to you down here?"
She smiled and held the door open for him again. "Will I see you tomorrow?"
He nodded.
"Have a good night then." She bid him farewell as she locked the door.
As Gabin carried his food towards his room he realized he still didn't know her name.
The next evening he hesitated to go to the library but decided the free food and the delicious tea was worth the trip. He had lifted enough to last him a few days when he relieved a merchant who had come slumming of his valuables only a couple candlemarks before. When he passed a boy that was barely skin and bones he remembered what the librarian said about sharing when fate favored her. He gripped one of the pennies in his hand for several seconds before he slipped it into the boy's bowl.
The boy's large brown eyes looked up at him, filled with confusion.
"Get something to eat." Gabin said gruffly.
The boy squeezed the coin so tight in his hand that Gabin could see his knuckles whiten. He had thought himself hard pressed when he hadn't eaten in a day but this boy probably hadn't eaten anything more nourishing than shoe leather in weeks.
"Come with me." Gabin invited impulsively. "I know a place with food."
The boy backed away slowly before running.
Gabin felt his heart sink and was surprised. What did he care about some beggar boy?
"Tragic, isn't it." A familiar voice commented behind him.
Turning he say the librarian with her basket of buns smiling at him. "He's a fool."
"Actually, that was rather smart, considering he has no idea who you are and I heard there is a child brothel operating in the area." She pointed out.
"There is?" Gabin asked in disgust. Even Exile's Gate had boundaries that should never be crossed.
"I imagine he has been fooled once with the offer of food." She said, her smile fading slowly. She scanned the shadows of the alley he took shelter in and removed one of her buns and tossed it to the shadows. One small hand snatched it out of the air and they heard him scurry off. "I always wish I could do more."
"You fed him at least." Gabin shrugged.
"Would you mind holding the basket while I open the door?" She asked and held out the basket to him. He obediently held it as she unlocked the heavy portal and stepped inside.
"What's your name?" He asked suddenly.
"Keli." She answered as she started her ritual of lighting the fire.
"I'm Gabin." He informed her although she did not ask.
"I am pleased to know you Gabin." She said as she lit the fire.
He envied the ease she had in making the dry logs leap into flame. She obviously had a great deal of experience lighting fires as a maid. "Why didn't you ask me my name?" He asked bluntly.
She straightened and turned to face him. "I did not want to send you running. Isn't that what you would do if I had asked your name that first night?"
Gabin shrugged but he knew she was right.
He started reading again as she hung the lanterns and reshelved the books. People drifted in and out through out the evening. He had no doubt that when word of this warm haven spread more would come. He just hoped that no one would disturb the quiet sanctuary or bother the pleasant librarian.
The following months fell into a routine, he arrived about the same time she did, and read until she started tidying up. After the book about the Herald he worked his way through dozens of books, some fiction, most not. Keli always gave him tea and a few buns. Sometimes he saw her give some to other patrons, ones that obviously needed food. As he predicted, as winter set in her little library became very popular. A few street boys even came in to huddle in corners and read.
It was nearly midwinter when the little haven was disturbed. Gabin had been reading a book on history on a stormy night, only one other patron, a prostitute that had given up on turning a trick that night, occupied the room. Only the howl of the wind disturbed them until the door swung open to bang against the wall.
The intruder was easily six feet tall, broad as a bull with a belly that resembled a keg of beer. A long scar bisected his cheek and Gabin could see a few teeth missing.
Keli stepped forward to greet him.
"You the bitch running this?" He demanded before she said a word.
"Yes." She answered calmly. "Is there a problem?"
He reached out to grab the front of her worn brown dress but she stepped deftly out of reach. "Seems you're behind on your payments." He sneered.
"I make no payments to the type you'd consort with." She said defiantly. "I am not partial to blackmailers."
Gabin tossed aside his book and ran to her rescue. He recognized the man as a bullyboy that was a member of a local gang, one that demanded money from storekeepers in exchange for not having their businesses destroyed. Most paid, accepting it as part of business in Exile's Gate.
"Course, if you make it worth me while I might over look it this time." The intruder leered at Keli.
"I don't think so." Keli said with a look of disgust. "You smell like the dregs of a brewery and like you have not seen a bath at least a decade, and that is not even mentioning the entire lack of manners or personality."
He recognized the insult immediately. "Why you—" He raised his hand to hit her just as Gabin shoved her out of harms way. The hamlike fist collided with his ear sending him flying towards the frightened prostitute who was now cowering behind her chair. His ears rung and bright spots hovered before his eyes.
"That is quite enough." Keli said in a steely tone.
Gabin levered himself up into a sitting position just in time to see the mild mannered, pleasant, librarian pull a sword out of a carefully concealed slit in her skirt and hold it out like she knew exactly what to do with it. "Watch out!" He shouted and struggled to get to his feet.
"Leave now." Keli ordered.
The bullyboy ignored her order and stepped forward.
Gabin had lived his entire life on the mean streets, he knew women who were just dangerous as most men and more unpredictable but he had never suspected Keli was one of them. She never hesitated as she brought the gleaming blade up in an arc that sent a bloody mist spraying over a shelf and left part of his hand on the floor. The intruder stared at her dumbly then at his remaining two fingers and thumb. He roared in incoherent rage and charged at the delicate woman.
Gabin didn't have time to shout another warning when the blade sliced again, this time coming to rest at a very sensitive place.
"Now, unless you want to end your days peeing through a reed leave now." She said, holding her blade at his groin.
He froze and stared down at the blade then up at her. She shifted the blade slightly and he rose up on his toes to prevent further damage.
"Now, your hand is going to require a healer. May I suggest you find one then find another line of work. This is you last chance." She said coldly.
He withdrew slowly then nearly ran out the door.
Keli sheathed her sword and turned to Gabin and the prostitute. "Are you both alright?"
Both nodded dumbly.
"Gabin, could you please close up?" She requested as she grabbed her cloak from behind the counter and ran out the door.
Gabin dutifully ushered the prostitute out the door but did not lock it behind her in case Keli returned. He extinguished all the lanterns and gathered the books then waited for her to return.
It was after midnight when the door swung open and Keli entered. She seemed surprised to see him but smiled a greeting. "You didn't need to wait." She pointed out.
"Why'd you run after him?" Gabin asked.
Keli shrugged. "The heat of the moment I guess."
Gabin didn't believe her for a moment.
"You better get home. The Midwinter markets start tomorrow, wouldn't want to miss it, would you?" She asked as she picked up the ever-present jug of water and poured some over the bloody stain. "Will I see you tomorrow?"
"'Course." Gabin said as if his presence had ever been in doubt.
"Wonderful, until then." She bid him farewell as she started to scrub the stain.
The next morning Gabin woke to the neighborhood in an uproar. He emerged onto the snow blown street to see members of the City Watch escorting men out of a house several blocks down. They were all shackled and people were leaning out of windows hurling insults not at the Watch but at the prisoners. It took him several minutes to discern why. There were small, fearful faces in the windows of the house. Children as young as five watching the men, looking as if they were stunned and scared.
One small face he recognized as the boy he had given the coin too months before.
Gathering his courage he approached the nearest Watchman. "Can I help? The children looked scared."
The Watchman turned and stared at him for several seconds before nodding. "Thanks son. Those children won't let us near them. Scared we'll pack them off as well. Poor tykes."
Gabin sidled around the crowd and into the house. He hurried to the second story and opened the first door he came to. A little girl spun and stared at him, fear paint over her face. "Don't worry, the bad men are gone." He assured her.
She broke down into tears at his gentle words and ran to him.
Gabin barely managed to catch her as she buried her face in his shoulder. "Come, let's help the others." He led her to the next room and another little girl, only a few years older.
It took him more than a candlemark to gather all the children in one room, get them bundled up in blankets in front of fires. Members of the Watch went about their business, occasionally trying to reassure the children. The little girl he helped first followed him around, never saying a word.
The little boy he had given the copper also latched on to him, darting along in his wake, letting no one close.
Finally, near sunset, the Commander of the Watch stopped him. "Thanks boy." He said gruffly.
Gabin blushed. "Anybody'd do it."
"We're off." The commandeered informed him. "If you need anything, you ask for me."
"Would you be able to stop at the library and tell Keli that I am going to need her buns here?" Gabin requested.
The commander's eyebrow twitched and he nodded. "I'll do it personally."
Gabin didn't breathe easy until the commander was gone, he had been a thief for too many years to trust the Watch but right now they were on the same side.
Less than a candlemark latter Keli appeared on the doorstep with two very large baskets of food and a redheaded girl in tow with an armload of clean blankets. Keli gave him both baskets of food and removed her cloak.
"How many children are there?" She asked.
"A good two dozen." Gabin admitted. "And they're all scared stiff."
"Why don't you tell them a story while I see about getting them cleaned up?" Keli suggested.
The girl looked past him into the room he had gathered all the children in then up at Keli. "I'll start hauling water." She said bluntly.
As she scurried outside to the communal well Gabin noted the sword and dagger strapped to her side and didn't protest her safety.
"My sister, Fyn." Keli explained. "She can take care of herself."
Gabin nodded uncertainly and returned to the twenty odd children. He sat on the hearth and cleared his throat. "Would you like me to tell a story?" He asked.
A few children nodded.
Gabin wracked his brain for the most hope filled story he knew before beginning. "Once, over four hundred years ago, long before our births a man faced some of the greatest evil the world has ever known…" He started to relate the tale of Herald Vanyel he had read in Keli's library.
As he spoke the children relaxed and Keli moved among them, gently washing faces and exchanging blankets that had witnessed only gods knew what for ones that were clean and sweet smelling. Fyn handed out buns and chunks of cheese with a dignity that was beyond her years.
Eventually all the children fell asleep; most huddled together. The silent little girl that had followed him about all day fell asleep at his foot.
"I'll talk to Lord Elluen and see to it Healers come down in the morning." Keli told him as she put another log on the fire. "I am certain we—they can find homes for them."
Gabin, nearly as exhausted as his charges, nodded.
Keli handed him a roll thick with butter and tender beef. "Will I see you tomorrow at the library?"
Gabin nodded.
"Until then." She said and glanced at the children. "There are enough buns for breakfast for everyone. By then the Healers should be here."
"Thanks." Gabin muttered, as if the word was foreign to him.
Keli smiled and led her sister from the room.
As promised, Healers arrived the next morning, sent from the Palace, to gather up the children. The little boy and girl that had clung to him desperately for most of the night were the last to be placed on the wagons that were brought by the Healers to take them to the palace.
Gabin blinked back tears as the children were led away. Returning to his room he collapsed onto his pallet in the corner, ignoring the odd looks he got from the others. He still did not know what had led him to offer to help. He was a thief, a pickpocket to be precise, and he should have avoided the guard. At fifteen he knew if he was caught again he would find himself dancing on the end of the rope, he had been caught too many times before. Too many would recognize him now.
That evening he was at the library before Keli appeared. The routine of the evening was comforting after the dark revelations of the day before.
As always, Keli poured him some tea and gave him a bun, this time it was hot., the buttered melted.
"I stopped and bought it." She explained. "I figured you wouldn't have had time to collect some money."
Gabin ate the food slowly. "What's going to happen to the children?"
"The Healers are going to help them recover. Then they are going to find them homes, probably in the country with barren couples. That's what they did after the Tersel wars with all those orphans." Keli informed him.
"They'll be happy?" Gabin asked, desperate for some reassurance that some good would come out of this.
"Yes. I believe so." Keli assured him. "It is horrible what happened to those children."
Gabin nodded.
Keli left him to his thoughts as she resumed her routine.
He knew there were other children out there; maybe not in brothels but at the mercy of human predators all the same.
"Keli, is there a spare room here?" He asked suddenly.
"Yes, do you need a place to stay?" She asked.
"No. It's not for me." Gabin shook his head.
Keli took a seat in the chair across from him. "Who's it for?"
"It's the street children. I was just thinking, if they had a safe place for the night they might be safer." Gabin explained.
"The little room is not going to big enough for them." Keli said regretfully.
Gabin's shoulders slumped. "It figures."
"But it is a start." Keli pointed out quickly. "I will speak to Lord Elluen about some funding if it does help get children off the street."
"I couldn't do it." Gabin quickly protested.
"Why not? You helped those children yesterday and did a very good job too." Keli pointed out.
"I'm just a thief. How am I going to be able to help them?" Gabin asked.
"You are not just a thief. You are also a scholar and a hero." Keli corrected him.
"I am no hero and certainly not a scholar." Gabin shook his head.
Keli chuckled. "I admit you are the most unlikely scholar I have ever met but since we met you have studied more topics than a priest. As for being a hero, what do you thinks those children see you as? They see you as their savior."
"All I did was tell a story." Gabin protested. "It was the watch that took the bastards away."
"You made them feel safe after being in hell for who knows how long? It was not the watch who gave them hope. It was you who summoned food, it was you who gave them blankets, it was you who told them everything was alright, and it was you who stayed with them all night wiping tears and telling more stories." Keli pointed out. "That makes you a hero. Now, what do you want to do with the back room?"
Gabin stared at her in stunned silence as her sincere words sank in. "I don't know, just give them a place to sleep?"
"That helps them for tonight, what about what will give them a future?" Keli asked. Her bright blue eyes seemed wise and knowing, like she knew his thoughts.
"Maybe if we teach them…" Gabin suggested.
"Thievery?" Keli suggested.
Gabin shook his head. "They will only get hung that way. Teach them to fight I guess. Most don't go to the temple schools, maybe we could teach them to read. Give them a chance to become shop boys or something."
"Excellent plan." Keli praised him. "Make a list of what you need and I will see what I can do."
She went to the counter and returned with a pot of ink, paper, and a quill. Gabin accepted the materials and started making his list very carefully. He had never used true paper before and this was fine stuff.
He made a list of all the supplies he remembered using in the Temple school, blankets, and anything else he thought to need, like water pitchers.
Keli accepted the list at closing and the next day brought a large armful of blankets and showed him the back room. It had been cleared out when they were preparing the library and had a door on the alley as well as one to the library. She also showed him the upstairs rooms that were filled with old boards that hadn't been used and a table inviting him to take what he needed.
It was almost a month later that he opened up the back room, a month he spent currying friendships with the beggar children, eating only the buns Keli brought everyday since he never had time to steal, sleeping in the back room, with Keli's permission, and making his little room as safe as possible. She even made him a key to the door to the library.
The first night it was four children, the second six, and then ten. Soon he had to ask Keli for use of the upstairs rooms as sleeping quarters and classrooms.
As he told the children tales that he had read in the library or taught them how to fight someone larger and stronger than themselves he felt the first glow of success and happiness. As promised Keli talked to her employer about funding and he was given enough to rent the shop next door and purchase some ragged clothing for the worst of the children. The number of children that came to him at night grew so quickly that he recruited an old friend from the streets to help him.
It was nearly summer when he went next door to Keli to tell her of the antics of his little clan as he thought of them now and he found a stranger behind her counter. The woman, one he recognized as a prostitute that had frequented the library for the past several months greeted him uncertainly.
"Where's Keli?" Gabin asked worriedly.
"She can't come down no more." The former prostitute informed him. "But she put in a good word for me and I got her job." She said the last with no little pride. "One of the back rooms is now mine and me son's."
Gabin congratulated her dully and left.
He checked back many times, but as the weeks turned into months he stopped expecting to see her. As he watched some a local business owner hire the first children he had taken in he shared their victory. When one went missing he mourned their loss. For over a year it was his life. From waking to sleep he played big brother to those children. The donations from Lord Elluen never stopped and in truth were all that kept him afloat but he never regretted this precarious existence.
He no longer hid in shadows when the Watch passed. He was no longer a thief. He had not been since the night Keli had called him a scholar and a hero. He was often called the street scholar for his vast assortment of knowledge that he had collected from the books in the library.
He was seventeen and simply walking down the street with string bags of food for the children when he was grabbed from behind.
"Hold still." The sharp order in his ear held authority, he knew this was no mugging when the bags were yanked from his hands and tossed to the ground and his hands bound behind him.
"By the authority of the Queen you are under arrest for theft." The voice informed him as he was yanked to his feet to see four members of the watch.
"Theft?" Gabin repeated dumbly.
There was no doubt on the faces of the Watchmen as he was hauled away. A few children he recognized as members of his little safe house ran beside them shouting questions but not daring to interfere.
Gabin shouted back at them to take the food and go back to the house before someone snitched it and they reluctantly obeyed. Gabin knew his friend would continue to keep the house open until the charges were either revoked or he was hung.
He didn't struggle all the way to the Watch headquarter were he was unceremoniously tossed in a barred cell without a bucket to piss in.
Gabin surveyed the bleak little cell, still trying to work his hands free. He remembered this part of being taken by the Watch all too well. This was where the victim was brought to identify the accused. He prayed fervently that the 'victim' would know he was obviously the wrong thief.
"That's the one." A harsh voice said behind him.
Spinning Gabin saw a man that tugged a memory. It wasn't until he saw that half the man's hand was missing that he recognized him. He was dressed as a merchant now but Gabin remembered hearing that when he went to a healer to be patched up after the bout with Keli he had been packed off by the watch to serve charges of extortion with two years hard labor up north. The hard labor had shrunk the massive belly making him look even more intimidating and dangerous
"That's the one who stole my purse." The bullyboy lied.
"You liar." Gabin accused. "You just want revenge because Keli sliced off half your hand."
The Watchman next to him glanced at the supposed merchant. "What's he mean?"
"I have no idea. No doubt he is trying to save himself by creating doubt about me." The bullyboy shrugged languidly.
Gabin was no fool; he knew that with his past convictions for theft he was going to be crow bait for a theft he never committed. "Fine, I want trial by Herald." He demanded, remembering the law book he had read ages ago that said anyone might ask for a trial by Herald so long as their crimes were committed within the borders of Valdemar.
"You what?" The Watchman asked dubiously, as if Gabin had said the last thing he had ever expected a thief to say.
"I want a trial by Herald." Gabin repeated. "I will swear under Truth Spell that I have never robbed this man."
He saw the first flickers of unease in the bullyboy's eyes at that moment. Now all he had to do was convince a Herald of his sincerity.
The days leading up to his trial where some of the worst in his life but he kept repeating to himself that they would behind him soon enough and that he would soon be back with the children and back to spending his evenings in the library.
Finally, after over a week, he was lead out of the dank cell with his hands and feet shackled. He looked every inch the guilty prisoner. No doubt what the Watch wanted. He had a fair idea that he had annoyed them by going over their heads to a Herald.
They chained him in the back of an open cart where anyone passing could see his humiliation as they made their way to the city courthouse.
He ignored the curious stares and the few insults. He caught a few glimpses of familiar faces, which he waved to as if he were on parade without a care in the world. The entire route he spent mentally repeating his plea to the Herald.
When the cart stopped he was unchained from the sides and hauled unceremoniously up the steps and inside.
Gabin blinked and squinted as he tried to adjust to the sudden darkness. His guards were forced to walk in front and behind him down the narrow hall to reach the Hall of Justice where the Herald presided.
The Hall of Justice was not nearly as grand as the name implied. It was built of wood with little ornamentation inside or out. Sturdy benches were filled with people that watched him avidly as he was led past.
At the far end of the building a figure clad in glowing white with hair as white as fresh snow was occupied writing something.
Gabin hoped the ancient Herald would not be too hidebound to see he was no longer a thief.
He was usher to the front of the hall by the Watch.
"Herald, the Prisoner Gabin, has requested trial by Herald." One of the Watchmen intoned.
The Herald looked up and Gabin nearly choked. The 'ancient' Herald was no such thing. Despite her hair's pale hue she was obviously in her twenties. But what was more startling was that aside from her hair color it was Keli!
"What's the charge?" She asked.
"Theft." The Watch answered.
She wrote it down dutifully. "And the accuser?"
"Merchant, Andus Golfin." The Watchmen answered.
"I mean where is he?" The Herald said with a sigh.
The Watchman blushed. "He should be here…" He looked around and at the back of the room he spied the merchant. "There he is your ladyship."
"Merchant Golfin will you please come up here?" She asked with obviously strained patience.
The bullyboy shifted uneasily, suddenly the focus of every eye in the large room. He hurried to the front of the room obediently.
Gabin looked between the Herald and the false Merchant willing her to remember the incident, willing her to remember him.
"Unchain the prisoner." She ordered.
"But he's dangerous!" The watchman protested.
"According to my notes on this case he stands accused of pickpocketing, correct? That is hardly a violent crime. Now undo the shackles and step back and let me do my job." She ordered.
Gabin rubbed his wrists as the shackles were removed but refrained from gloating in any form. Just in case this was not Keli, he did not want to make a bad impression.
"I am going to use the truth spell." The Herald warned. "If either of you deviate from the truth I will know. Now, Gabin, you may go first."
There was a soft gasp through out the room that told him the legendary truth spell had been invoked.
"Now, have you ever robbed this man before?" She asked calmly.
"No." Gavyn answered confidently. There was a muttering behind him, he assumed because the spell had revealed he was telling the truth.
"Have you seen this man before?" She continued.
"Yes, milady, I saw him not much over two years ago. He was attempting to extort money from a dear friend of mine. She responded by removing half his hand and nearly castrating him." Gabin answered.
There was more muttering and a few chuckles.
The Herald turned her attention to the 'merchant'. He suddenly surrounded by a bluish haze. "Did this man rob you?"
"Yes." The merchant said firmly.
The haze vanished.
"Did you attempt to extort funds from his friend?" Herald asked after the haze had returned.
"No."
The haze vanished again.
"Are you doing this in revenge?" She asked.
"No, why would I wish revenge?" He asked plaintively.
She smiled slightly. "Well, if he had truly robbed you, you would want revenge for that would you not?"
He looked around, almost panicked.
"I am going to invoke the second stage of the truth spell." She warned. The crowd twittered again.
"Now, tell me exactly why you are persecuting this young man." She demanded.
He opened his mouth and Gabin had no doubt that whatever he was about to say was not what came out. "That bitch screwed up everything!" He hollered. "She followed me to the house and then ratted us out."
"The house being the child brothel?" She asked.
"Yes." The word was pulled by force from him.
"Were you a partner in that?" She asked.
"Yes." He answered again.
Gabin glared at the man, his hands clenched into fists.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar face, the Commander that had spoken to him the day he had helped with the children looking like that cat that had caught the fattest mouse in the barn.
"Here is my verdict." She said as she stood. "Gabin is innocent and his hereby released to do as he will. You, sir, are to be investigated for your involvement in the child brothel with charges pending. Watch, take him into custody."
The same men that had brought Gabin in dragged the bullyboy out in the same shackles.
Gabin hoped the bastard had a cellmate who was aware of his crimes.
He was too busy watching the man being dragged away to notice the Herald had left her seat and had approached him.
"Gabin, it has been a long time." She greeted him.
Gabin turned back to her. "Herald Keli I presume?"
"Herald Kelisiaori actually." She corrected. "I hope you don't mind the spectacle."
Gabin shook his head. "It got that bas-uh, creep. It was worth it."
Keli smiled. Around them the people were starting to disperse.
"Don't you have more cases?" Gabin asked in confusion.
"No, they just caught wind there was an interesting case coming up and stayed after their own cases were judged." Keli explained. "How have you been? I hear you still have your safe house and that it is doing well."
"It is. There are eighty children there right now." Gabin said proudly. "Is it possible to thank Lord Elluen for his generosity?"
Keli grinned and guided him over to the side where they had some privacy.
"I assume he isn't your employer." Gabin commented. "Are you the benefactor?"
"No. Lord Elluen is my brother in law. He adores children so when I told him of your plans he wanted to give you money to help out." Keli explained. "So long as the money didn't come from royal coffers we had no say in what was taught so you could basically operate without someone hovering over your shoulder."
"Thank you all the same, Herald." He said in sincere appreciation.
"You are most welcome, but call me Keli." She requested. "I do count you a friend."
"Why did you leave without saying farewell?" He asked.
"I'm afraid someone recognized me down there. The council would have had kittens to discover what I was doing with my off hours so I had to stop, but Elda was able to take over and she is doing quite well." Keli explained. "But what about you? What have you been up to?"
Gabin chuckled. He couldn't help but think what he would be up to if she hadn't invited him into the library. "A whole lot less than what I could be up to. Eighty children keep a person busy."
"I imagine it does." Keli agreed.
"That night you found me in the doorway. Why did you invite me in?" Gabin asked the question that had been bothering him for years. "I was going to rob you, you know."
"You would have tried, you would not have succeeded." Keli corrected. "As for why, you looked hungry."
"That's it. You invited in a stranger because he looked hungry?" Gabin repeated in disbelief. "What if—"
"If you found a boy huddled on your doorstep, obviously hungry and desperate wouldn't you feed him?" Keli countered.
"Of course." Gabin answered without hesitation. "But that's it? Because I was hungry you were nice?"
Keli laughed. "There was no great magical insight or visions of the future. I just had faith that you would not take advantage of the opportunity."
"But, you invited me back, you gave me a key to the door, and you helped me set up the place for the children…"
"I only opened the door." Keli corrected him. "You did the rest."
Gabin shook his head. "You're the Herald. There is nothing I could have done for those children in the brothel if you hadn't come."
"You are the most resourceful thief I know." Keli commented. "You would have found a way. You would have just opened your safe house earlier."
Gabin leaned against the wall and stared down at his ill-fitting shoes. "I never would have done it if you weren't kind to me." He admitted as if it were some great dark secret.
"You better get back to the children. They have been trying to sneak into the courthouse all day so they can rescue you." Keli informed him.
"Thanks." Gabin said as he straightened. "For everything."
Keli remained silent until he had nearly reached the door he had come in. "Gabin, if a cup of tea, a book, and friendship was enough to change your life, just think of all the lives you have changed."
Gabin was at a loss for any response as he continued out the door into the sunlight. An easy dozen dirty children practically conjured themselves from alleys and under wagons and converged on him. The noise of their greetings drew many glares from the clean, moneyed people around them.
Ignoring them Gabin returned their greetings.
"Let's get back to the house." Gabin suggested.
"Will you tell us a story?" One pleaded.
Scooping up the youngest he settled her on his shoulders. "Which one?"
"Then one about the people who made Haven." One requested.
"No, one about the knight and the lady in the tower!" Another nearly shouted.
As they started walking Gabin cleared his throat and they all fell silent. "How about a thief this time?" He asked.
The suggestion was met with noisy approval.
"A thief and a librarian." He continued.
"Like Elda?" One of the children that had been with him a year asked.
"The lady who came before Elda." Gabin corrected. "How she taught the thief that one kind act does change the world."
"Sounds sappy." One of the older boys protested.
Gabin shrugged and the little girl on his shoulders squealed with glee. "If not for her we'd probably all be hungry."
Gabin sensed someone behind him, turning back he saw Keli in the doorway, a Companion next to her. She waved as she swung into her saddle.
"Was that a Herald?" One of the children said in awe.
"That she is." Gabin confirmed. "Now, about this story."
"Is it a really old story?" The girl on his shoulders asked.
"No, this one is new." Gabin said as he led the children back to the area known as Exile's Gate that was just a little better for his presence.