This next chapter is told from Kahlan Amnell's point of view. And yes, the name is taken from Terry Goodkind, though I don't know how much of the personality.
Oakhurst's tavern was entirely uninteresting, which fact I discovered soon after purchasing meals for my companions. I had to glare at Gallant for buying a drink for some inebriated wench, but I let him do it anyway. A rather large fellow eyed him suspiciously, and I hoped that woman wasn't his girlfriend, for the bard's sake. I had no interest in standing around to protect him, though, so I wandered over to a couple of aristocratic ladies talking in a corner. They paused to peer over their noses at me but otherwise ignored me, going back to their conversation.
"Who are you?" I asked. Their mouths dropped open (either shocked or offended, I'm sure), and the one on the left gave a haughty snort.
"Excuse me," she thundered. "How dare you interrupt a private conversation like that! Who are you to do such a thing?"
"My name's Kahlan. Kahlan Amnell," I answered calmly. I think my indifference may have upset them more, but at least they were talking to me.
"Well, my name is Amelia, and this is my sister Obelia," the woman responded indignantly. "But this was a private conversation, and you had no right to intrude, you little half-breed!" The two spinsters rose and stormed out in a huff. Strangely enough, Swanky saw them leave and followed them out the door.
I mingled with the other villagers for a while longer, but when Swanky didn't return, I grew worried. No one else seemed to have noticed his departure (maybe they just didn't care?), so I took it upon myself to find him. He'd do something completely fanatical if he wasn't watched carefully; I was sure of it. And while I admit that I took whatever opportunities fate gave me, he seemed entirely, perhaps even violently, insane. He told us he'd been stricken with amnesia and remembered nothing about his past, but even so I still don't understand why we agreed to travel with him.
Uproar in the street drew my attention. Two town guards were busy lifting a pale form from the ground, and one of the women (did it matter which?) I'd talked to earlier looked on hysterically. She sobbed and moaned as they carried away what I presumed to be her sister. I called to another nearby guard and asked him about the commotion.
"Someone psychopath tried to assassinate this lady here," he answered grimly. "The fiend attempted to slash her throat, but her sister Amelia screamed and drew us to him. We tried to chase him down but lost him somewhere in the shadows or back alleys."
It certainly sounded like Swanky. I decided I'd have to conduct my own search. "Will the woman live?" I continued, unsure of whether I cared or not.
"She's badly hurt, but we think she'll pull through," he replied. "We drove him off just in time and managed to stop most of the bleeding." The haggard soldier shook his head wearily. "It's a shame that we have this kind of thing even in a small town like Oakhurst…goblins killing our sheep and whatnot in the night, and now a would-be murderer among us…" He muttered to himself further as he walked off to escort the still-frantic Amelia home.
After making sure the guards no longer noticed me, I quickly explored the closest alleys for signs of Swanky. It didn't take long before the prospective assassin leaped at me from the shadows, kama in hand. He stopped when he saw me, however. "Swanky, you idiot! What were you thinking?" It wasn't even that I cared about the woman's life, but if he endangered all of us by association…
"I'm sorry," he offered sheepishly. He seemed just like a little boy caught playing in the mud in his best clothes. Still, I couldn't let him off completely.
"Next time you want to kill someone, be sure to tell me first," I grumbled. "Now come on and don't hurt anyone. I'm sure the others are wondering where we are right about now, and we don't want them to get suspicious." I dragged him back to the tavern without further incident. The rest of our group was already discussing our next course of action when we arrived.
"Good to see you," Palanob remarked as we entered. "We've been talking about this problem Oakhurst's having with their livestock dying. Something seems to be killing them in the night—probably goblins. One of the farmers here asked me to spend the night at his place and thwart whatever's causing the attacks. Gallant and Barty are going to talk to the Mayor and accept his payment for our help." I noticed that Barty seemed unusually glum about this turn of events—had he somehow angered the Mayor already? I thought it was worth my time to figure this out.
"I'll be glad to go along with you two and speak with him," I offered willingly. Besides, an audience with the village leader should certainly prove more interesting than helping a poor peasant.
"What are you going to do, Doran?" Barty sighed, turning his attention to the priest. I got a feeling that the grim cleric had said little so far, and even then he took his time answering. His quietness unnerved me, since he was the kind with an unshakeable soul. Those green eyes swam with deliberation.
"Since you're asking my will, I shall go with good Palanob to help this poor man," he mused. "I consider it my duty to help those in need, and he may have need of another arm this night. If he will let me stay, I am going with them." Doran slammed a gauntleted fist onto the tabletop. "We shall deal with these intruders as befits their violence." No, he wasn't easing my apprehensions about him at all.
We finally split up a few minutes later. Barty, Gallant, and I headed toward the Mayor's estate, while the others followed the inebriated farmer to his lands. For a fleeting moment I wondered how wise it was to let Swanky alone with two devout crusaders, but I quickly dismissed my fears. Surely he wouldn't do anything stupid. Again. In one day. All right, so my worries weren't easily dismissed.
We arrived at the Mayor's after a short walk. The gate was unlocked and unguarded, which surprised me a little, but I wasn't in charge of security. I guess Oakhurst didn't get disturbed very often. We went through the gate carefully and rapped on the paneled doors. Moments ticked by, but eventually a stiff-backed butler answered the knock. "Yes, who are you?" He peered down his nose at the three of us.
Barty stepped forward. "I met the Mayor in the tavern a little while ago," he explained, flashing a charismatic smile. "He said you had some problems around town, and I offered my friend and myself to help. He told me to come here if I wanted to, and I've brought some of my companions so we can discuss things a little more fully."
"Just a moment." The man disappeared behind the heavy door for what seemed like ages. I'd almost fallen into a trance when the door creaked open once more. "The Master will be with you momentarily," the snooty servant told us. He showed us into a stylish reception area. Two large couches were arranged on opposite sides of a small table, and a thickly-padded chair sat at the head. Three or four paintings decorated the walls, one of which showed a man and woman that I assumed must be the Mayor and his wife. A staircase trailed up to an upstairs hallway, and judging from the doorways at least three rooms lay situated around the foyer. A delightful aroma of roast pig wafted from one of them, making me realize just how little I'd eaten that day. The butler scurried into the kitchen and left us to wait.
While we sat, I noticed a small dish of chocolates sitting on the low table. They looked tasty, but the Mayor walked in at that moment and I decided not to eat any in front of him without asking first. He seemed very distracted and greeted us very briefly. "I appreciate you coming like this. I'm sure Oakhurst will be very grateful for your services. We'll reward you, of course." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "What did we agree on…Barty, was it?"
He thought about it for a moment, but Gallant was there to step in. "It was 50 gold pieces for each person who helped, I believe."
The Mayor appeared puzzled. "Really? I was sure we'd decided 100. I'm willing to pay that, but if you'd care to go lower"
"No, no, that's quite all right," Barty answered hastily. "I must've just gotten it wrong earlier. I'll hear one thing and remember another all the time. I'm horrible like that."
"Oh well. 100 gold each it is." The Mayor seemed understandably glum at missing a chance to pay us less, but I figured there wasn't much he could do about it. Those animal killings had probably cost Oakhurst hundreds or even thousands in gold already, and he needed to solve that problem. "If you need it, I'll even forward you a little for supplies and give you a voucher with Garon for three nights stay. Any more than that and he'll have my head. Jives!" His butler reentered and stood at attention. "Please give this group twenty gold pieces for accepting this task and see if they want anything to eat or drink." The servant nodded and left, and the Mayor turned back to us. "I'm sorry, excuse me for a second," the aristocrat muttered, leaving again.
We stared at each other in silence for a minute or two before Gallant turned his attention toward the chocolates. "I love these things!" he said, stuffing several into his mouth. I was about to eat one myself when the Mayor returned with a small pouch of money. I didn't think he'd appreciate me helping myself uninvited, so I kept my hands to myself.
"I'll just leave this here by the door," the Mayor told us, leaving the purse there. It crossed my mind to see if I could find the man's safe, but I knew I probably wouldn't get an opportunity. "Maybe this will compensate for some of your troubles. I'm sure it'll come in handy, especially if it takes you a few nights to figure things out."
"Well, we're happy to help," Gallant answered him. "Oh, and by the way, these chocolates are delicious."
A strange look came across the Mayor's face. "You didn't…eat any of those, did you?" No one answered him, but he could easily tell the truth. "Oh dear, I should have warned you. Those chocolates are drugged. You see, my wife and I like to play tricks on each other, and I know she's very fond of candy…"
"Oh. Well, it's a good thing I only had one of them," Gallant replied as his eyelids began to droop.
"Yes indeed. Only one, you say? Well, you'll probably be okay then. If you'd had two or three, that might be another story." No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than the bard fell asleep and landed on the ground with a thud. "He doesn't have a very strong constitution, does he?" the Mayor remarked, still believing Gallant's lie.
"Nope," Barty answered as I suppressed a giggle. "So, uh, can we just wait around here until he wakes up?"