When Delmar returned with a full crew, he pointed to the spot where the breach had been. “You two work fast. But, it is more important that this barrier can hold until it can be properly rebuilt. Though I’m impressed you threw something up so fast.”
”Give it a push then. We’ll help you.” Rhunal said confidently.
The large workman frowned, “Cocky eh? Well all right, but don’t get upset when it all comes crashing down.”
No amount of shoving would force the barrier to budge an inch. Even when Delmar and his crew started pushing on the outside of the wall.
“What kind of carpenter are you anyway?” he demanded. “This barrier looks way too rickety to be this sturdy.”
She grinned. “Completely amateur, but I have been told there is promise.”
“Huh. Well damn. You two have done your part and are free to go. I think the mayor wanted to talk to you first.” He pointed towards a larger house at the end of the northernmost street. “I say wanted, but it didn’t sound like a request. I wouldn’t wander anywhere else.”
They said goodbye and set out towards the building while the carpenters continued to inspect the sturdiest ramshackle barricade they’d ever seen.
“Okay Rhunal, you did your good deed for the day. But as I said, from here on we should try to avoid drawing extra attention,” Bron said.
“I’ll try I guess. But I wasn’t really trying to be helpful. I saw that iron bar and the possibilities of what I could do with it flooded into my head. I had to try. This tempering magic is nothing like my Teacher Carinus ever taught.”
“Hmm, you do have a brand new god to blame for that.” He pointed out.
“None of your gods have a special magic all their own though. They add a bit of mastery to particular skills. Inferno makes one quick and efficient with Pyromancy. Carinus’ is the God of Thunder who allows a similar efficiency with lightning spells.”
“I am not too familiar with the God of Thunder.” Bron admitted.
“I’m not surprised. He is a hermit’s god. He takes few followers, and those he does are isolated, unfriendly people like himself. He is powerful though, Carinus shouldn’t be underestimated. He told me once that his lightning can strike farther than the most powerful war bow.”
Bron whistled. “Amazing. Archers are a mage’s worst enemy. To have one out-range them would be terrifying.”
In that moment, a woman heard them talking as she was passing the pair. All the people had expressed some interest in the towering pair. Rhun didn’t consider herself tall, but she stood half-a-head taller than the average human. And Bron could look over the head of someone standing in front of him.
This woman though, turned at the name Carinus. She stared hard at Rhun for a moment. Rhun turned her head to avoid her gaze, but couldn’t really hide what she was.
The she-orc turned to Bron and hissed. “I recognize her. This is bad.”
“Who is she.”
“My language teacher, Valda Mercca, my former tutor. What is she doing in some frontier town?”
“Tutoring?” he suggested.
“Her specialty is proper language. What use is that in a frontier town with monstrous beasts smashing in the walls?” Rhun lifted her hands in exasperation.
“Maybe you should ask her? Oh, you did say you did not get along before,” Bron recalled.
“When? I never said that.”
“You said you threw a chair at her once.” Bron narrowed his eyes.
“Oh that. Well I was an angry child. And I had my reasons. I liked her a lot, actually.”
He chuckled. “I’m questioning our friendship Rhun.”
“I never promised I was safe.” she scoffed. “Didn’t I promise the opposite?”
“You promised that things would be weird.”
Rhun nodded vigorously. “Right. But the worse thing is that she knows Carinus. If she lives here, word might get back to him sooner than I’d planned. One day we’re going to wake up and see a troop of soldiers led by my teacher Carinus and your father here to bring us back.”
”We fought a demon bear. We can deal with that too when the time comes. But news from the frontier is not very important in the city. I think we will have some time. Either way, with this friend of yours in town, we might just have to come clean about our identities,” Bron said.
Rhun shook her head. “I think you were right before. The trick with the gate was a bit of a stunt. I don’t think I should tell anyone about my magic.”
The tutor didn’t follow them, but Rhun could feel eyes on her back the whole time. When they reached the house at the end, Joveta was already waiting outside.
“Already here?” she asked sternly. “How did that job at the wall go?”
“We finished the new barrier. It will hold the breach until the carpenters can find and prepare new logs to rebuild it,” Bron answered.
“That was pretty fast. Well, Delmar will tell me if you did a crap job. Alright, come in and sit down, don’t mind my friends there.” She pointed to a pair of armed guards standing inside.
Joveta’s house was only a bit larger than the rest in town. Hers had log walls instead of planks. She ushered them into a cozy living room with a blazing fire and two long hand-crafted benches. A picture of Joveta and her husband was over the fire. But beside it Rhunal couldn’t help but notice the impressive head of one of the deer with pivoting horns, the same ones they’d fought in the forest.
“We’ve killed one of these great deer ourselves, haven’t we Bron?” Rhun said.
He grinned. “Not quite so cleanly as the mayor did probably. Thing tried to take my eye out.”
Joveta stared at them both. “So you really did come through the forest after all. That forest is the only place to hunt these deer. Well that proves part of your story. Have a seat.” She indicated one of the benches.
When all were seated, she sat down across from them. “Who are you?”
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