The Banished One

By: Jay Whitefox

Chapter 8

The streets of Muros were narrow and dark, and snow had started to fall a bit more heavily, settling almost lazily though the dead calm air. A group of people made their way slowly leading their horses.

One was a giant of a man with long red hair in a multitude of braids and a long beard in one hand he held a great sword and dressed in mail armor; his tree-trunk-sized legs were wrapped in furs cross-tied with leather thongs. From his belt hung a short-handled axe and on the other side an empty sheath where his sword would be. Next to him was an ordinary-looking man with plain brown hair and a plain face, ruddy from the heat of a forge. He was neither tall nor short, nor was he thin or stout. He was dressed in a rough leather jerkin spotted with burns from the sparks of a forge. He also wore tight-fitting hose and soft leather boots as was the custom in Sendaria. In one hand he held a stout wooden club while with the other he leads his horse.

Next was an old man with white hair and beard both cut close. He was dressed in a long-sleeved woolen tunic with a loosely fitting yoke spotted and soiled with spilled food and drink. Near him was beautiful woman dressed in a common grey peasant's dress with long black hair save for a single streak of white in it. Near her was a boy of fourteen years with sandy blonde hair and dressed in a plain tan tunic and hose with soft leather boots. He also held in one hand a stout club while leading his own horse. An then there was a small weasel-like man dressed in a stained and patched tunic. He was scarcely taller then the boy and his face was dominated by a long pointed nose. His eyes were small and squinted and his straight, black hair was raggedly cut. Hanging from his belt was a short wicked looking sword.

When the attack came, it was unexpected and swift.

There was a sudden rush of footsteps and the sharp ring of steel on steel as the Giant fended off the first blow with his sword. And then the boy rushed to join the battle his club striking down one of the men as the main fight, however, surged around the giant and the blacksmith. The ring of the giant's sword and the thump of the smith's cudgel resounded in the narrow street along with the groans of their assailants.

"There's the boy!" a voice rang out from behind them, and the boy whirled to face two men running towards him. One held a sword and the other with a wicked-looking curved knife. Just as he readies himself for battle a small figure downs from above on the one holding the sword slamming them into the street as they twirl a white staff one end knocking the knife for the other man's hand an then jabbing him in the stomach an the on the head sending him to the ground. She looks at the boy and then grins as she walks over to him and asks. "Are you alright Garion?"

Garion blinks looking at the girl as he says. "I'm fine. Who are you and where did you learn to do that?" She grins at him as she stands on her toes to look him in the eyes.

"It's ok if you don't remember me it was quite a while ago since we saw each other." She giggles as she then turns seeing the two she dropped getting up and running off into a dark alley. Then there was a triumphant shout from the giant, and Ranko and Garion saw that the rest of the attackers were fleeing.

At the end of the street in the snow-speckled light from a small window was an unsavory looking man, almost dancing with fury. "Cowards!" he shouted at his hirelings. "Cowards!" and then the giant started for him, and he too turned and ran.

"Are you all right, Aunt Pol?" Garion asks, crossing the street to where she stood wile keeping one eye on the red haired girl who had helped them.

"Of course I am," she snapped. "And don't do that again, young man. Leave Street brawling to those better suited for it."

"I was all right," he objected. "I had my stick here."

"Don't argue with me," she said. "I didn't go to all the troubles of raising you to have you end up dead in a gutter."

"Is everyone all right?" the smith asked anxiously, coming back to them.

"Of course we are," Mistress Pol snapped peevishly. "Why don't you see if you can help the Old Wolf with the horses?"

"Certainly, Mistress Pol," the smith said mildly.

"A splendid little fight," The giant said, wiping his sword as he joined them. "Not much blood, but satisfying all the same."

"I'm delighted you found it so," Mistress Pol said acidly. "I don't much care for such encounters. Did they leave anyone behind?"

Regrettably no, dear lady," the giant said as he looked at the small girl now watching them all with a grin. "Who is this girl? And where did she come from?" he asks as Durnik looks at her and then smiles lightly as he says. "I believe it is Ranko but I had not seen her since she came with Mister Wolf to the farm that one time."

Ranko smiles as she walks over. "Hello Durnik, Mistress Pol, Garion it's nice to see you all again. I was sent to help Mister Wolf get back the thing that was stolen." The old man frowns looking at her as he says. "What do you mean by that child?"

Ranko giggles as she looks at him and then to silk who was trying hard no to be noticed by the small girl. She smiles widely as she moves and pounced on him knocking him to the ground and sitting on his chest. "Hello Silk did you miss me? You still owe me three imperials for the last bet we made."

Silk sighs as he looks up at the smiling red head and takes out said coins handing them over to her. She smirks and slips them into her own purse as she gets off him. Mister Wolf lifts an eyebrow as he asks. "How do you know Silk, Ranko and where did you meet him?"

"Oh I met Silk while in Gar og Nadrak. I was there learning to dance and he was there stealing something I think." She grins at the rat-faced man who rolls his eyes as he stands up brushing some snow off himself.

Mister Wolf looks at her and then shrugs as he says. "Well there is no helping it you're here now so we might be off we still need to get horses from the Algars' camp."

Just then Garion asks out loud. "How did Brill know we were in Muros?"

Silk looked at him sharply, his eyes narrowing. "Perhaps he followed us from Winold," he said.

"But we stopped and looked back," Garion said. "He wasn't following when we left, and we've kept a watch behind us every day."

Silk frowned. "Go on, Garion," he said.

"I think he knew where we were going," Garion blurted, and Ranko noticed he seemed to be struggling against something as he talked.

"And what else do you think?" Wolf asked.

"Somebody told him," Garion said. "Somebody who knew we were coming here."

"Mingan knew," Silk said, "but Mingan's a merchant, and he wouldn't talk about his dealings to somebody like Brill."

"But Asharak the Murgo was in Mingan's counting room when Mingan hired us." Garion says.

Silk Shrugged. "Why should it concern him? Asharak didn't know who we were."

"But what if he did?" Garion says. "What if he isn't just an ordinary Murgo, but one of those others-like the one who was with those ones who passed us a couple days after we left Darine?"

"A Grolim?" Silk said, and his eyes widened. "Yes, I suppose that if Asharak's a Grolim, he'd have known who we are and what we're doing."

"And what if the Grolim who passed us that day was Asharak?" Garion asks. "What if he wasn't really looking for us, but just coming south to find Brill and send him here to wait for us?"

Silk looked very hard at Garion. "Very good," he said softly. "Very, very good." He glanced at Mistress Pol. "My compliments, Mistress Pol. You've raised a rare boy here."

"What did this Asharak look like?" Wolf asked quickly.

"A Murgo." Silk shrugged. "He said he was from Rak Goska. I took him to be an ordinary spy on some business that didn't concern us. My mind seems to have gone to sleep." Silk seemed oddly evasive.

"It happens when one deals with Grolims," Wolf told him.

"Someone's watching us," Durnik said quietly, "from that window up there."

Ranko looked up and saw a dark shape at a second-story window outlined by the dim light.

Mister Wolf did not look up, but his face turned blank as if he were looking inward, or his mind was searching for something. Then he drew himself up and looked at the figure in the window, his eyes blazing. "A Grolim," he said shortly.

"A dead one perhaps," Silk said. He reached inside his tunic and drew out a long, needle-pointed dirk. He took two quick steps away from the house where the Grolim stood watching, spun and threw the dirk with a smooth overhand cast.

The dirk crashed through the window. There was a muffled shout, and the light went out.

"Marked him," Silk said with a grin.

"Good throw," the giant said admiringly.

"One has picked up certain skills," Silk said modestly. "If it was Asharak I owed him that for deceiving me in Mingan's counting room."

"At least it'll give him something to think about," wolf said. "There's no point in trying to creep though town now. They know we're here. Let's mount and ride. Ranko you can ride with me we can talk on the way." He climbed onto his horse and Ranko climbed on sitting before him and then led the way down the street at a quick walk.

"Just what are you doing here young lady?" Wolf whispers to Ranko who tilts her head to look back at him and smiles.

"Aldur though you might need some help and Uncle said people at your age need someone young around to make sure they don't forget stuff." Ranko whispers back, as Mister Wolf growls knowing just who told her that.

Once they reached the outskirts of the city, they nudged their horses into a fast canter. The snow was falling more seriously now, and the hoof-churned ground in the vast cattle pens was already faintly dusted with white.

At the Encampment of the Algars Mister Wolf spoke with the herd master while Ranko got her own horses she had left with them. She opens a saddle bag on her lead horse and smiles and strokes the heads of three small kittens lightly sleeping there. Soon they have changed over to new horses and they gained a contingent of Algars horsemen with half of them leading the way and the other half guarding the rear, they then rode back towards the west though the dark, snowy night.

AN: Well another chapter done. No side view this time of one of the others. And I'm keeping the mystery of where the last of the Ranmas had ended up for a while as it will be very important later on in the story. I still need proofreaders folks to improve my stuff. As for the others I might show what's going on with them every couple of chapters or when the mood strikes me, I'm still not sure yet. Right at this moment Ranko is the most important o the overall story. Also people a quick question, should Ranko learn the Will and the Word or not. Let me know what you all think.