The Last few Errands before their Departure – 3A-EW

Chapter 3 – Getting Underway (continued)

Kaylen knew the exact moment his sister spotted not just him, but the siblings following him, and raised an eyebrow in question before he drew close enough to offer an explanation. “Before you say anything, I wasn’t expecting to buy a **** any more than you were likely expecting me to, Lyria. But, Vesili made a convincing argument when she said I should buy her to spare her from someone cruel.” He turned and gestured for Danny to step forward, as Lyria, Ursa, and Alanthea all regarded the newcomers together. “This is Dinnae Thatcher. Her brother Gregory was originally going to be sold to pay off debts, but Danny offered to serve in his place. They are tanners, and she can use her skills to help maintain our equipment in the field.”

“You’re right, I wasn’t expecting that.” Lyria admitted, before glancing at Vesili, who nodded to confirm she had indeed recommended the sale before Lyria turned to face the brown-haired **** girl.

“Is she coming with us?” Ursa asked, hanging back with a concerned expression.

“Of course. Even with Vesili’s urging I wouldn’t have bought her if I didn’t think she could be useful to us.”

“Can she fight? Or are we going to have to protect her in addition to everyone else on the team?” The half-giant continued.

Kaylen scowled, “Dinnae is now a member of the team, and like each of us she’ll have a role to play.”

“She could be a liability in combat.” Ursa insisted. “You hired me to defend you, not babysit your ****.”

“I hired you to defend the team. If you can’t do that, by all means let us know now so we can get started finding your replacement.” Kaylen growled out.

The half-giant appeared momentarily stunned, but quickly countered, “I didn’t mean to imply that…” She sighed, “You know what, you’re right. Regardless of her level of skill, it’s my job to protect her, and I am fully capable of doing that in any but the most **** situations. It would help if she had some combat training herself, is all.”

The others were all silent as Kaylen and the tall dark-haired woman regarded one another. Then Kaylen turned a questioning gaze towards his new ****.

“Um, I don’t have much formal training with anything other than a knife.” She explained, “But I’ve been in a few fights. More than Gregory, at least. I wouldn’t expect you to let me carry a weapon, however.”

“You should have read the full contract.” Kaylen responded. “My mark not only prevents you from attacking me, but also anyone you perceive as my ally. We’ll honestly all be safer if you are able to defend yourself.”

“I didn’t realize **** marks are that strong.” Lyria said.

“It’s stronger when it’s a personal mark instead of a generic mark.” Kaylen explained. “I was able to place my own mark on her instead of relying on the slaver’s branding wand.”

“Then I agree, we should be able to give her a weapon, so she can help defend herself in a pinch.”

“You could take me with you.” Gregory suggested, stepping up next to his sister. “I could protect her.”

“Out of the question.” Kaylen told the brown-haired boy. “You’re still underage, and since you’re not indentured, it would be considered ****.”

“What if we got my uncle’s permission?” He asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Greg.” Dinnae turned to her brother. “It’s not your job to protect me anymore. Master Kaylen will look after me. You just need to focus on staying out of trouble and living your life. Don’t worry, I’ll come back once I’ve paid my debt. This was my choice.”

Gregory sniffed, but nodded, “Very well, but there’ll be hell to pay if you let anything happen to her.” He said the last to Kaylen.

“Kaylen gave me a chance.” Vesili spoke up, adding her input. “And I trust him and the team he put together to keep all of us safe.”

“That’s right. With Lyria and I looking after you, you won’t have anything to worry about.” Ursa said, thumping her knuckles against her chest armor.

“Thank you.” Dinnae said, blushing at the half-giant’s enthusiastic change in demeanor.

“If you’re a ****, where is your **** mark?” Alanthea asked, having moved forward to peer at Dinnae curiously.

“Never you mind.” Kaylen interjected before Dinnae could do more than look down, still blushing. “I intentionally marked her somewhere less visible.”

“You could still tell me.” Alanthea looked Dinnae up and down, then turned back to regard Kaylen entreatingly.

“I could.” Kaylen agreed. “But I won’t. I will leave it up to her if she wishes to share that information with you.”

Alanthea frowned at him, but ultimately nodded, accepting his answer.

So with that matter settled, Kaylen addressed the group as a whole, “So next on our agenda, I need to see that Gregory gets back to his relatives, and then we will need to make a few more purchases now that Dinnae is a member of our party before we can get on the road.”

Dinnae moved closer to address Kaylen, “Thank you again, and I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble.”

“It’s fine. You are my responsibility now, and I take that seriously.” Kaylen assured her.

Lyria caught Kaylen’s eye after a moment and asked as he turned back to her, “Do we want to split up? A few of us could go with Gregory to deliver him to his relatives while you get Danny her new gear and supplies.”

“I’m going with him.” Dinnae insisted. “I might need to explain what happened at the **** auction.”

“I plan to accompany them as well.” Kaylen added. “As I said, I promised I’d see him returned safely. Though, you could get started on supplies for her, Lyria.” He counted out the money they would need to buy another share of rations and related supplies, and handed it to his sister.

“That should work.” Kaylen’s sister agreed. “Where shall we meet up after?”

“Ander’s Armory. I want her fitted for her own chainmail tunic, and we’ll purchase a solid defensive weapon for her while we’re at it.”

They all agreed, and so they split up, and Kaylen went with Janel, Alanthea, and the Thatcher siblings towards the port district to locate Gregory’s relatives.

Meeting Breen and Dillon Thatcher was a bit of an awkward affair, though more so for Gregory than any of the adventurers. The blue-eyed boy faced his aunt and uncle contritely, as Dinnae explained most of the occurrences at the **** auction. She omitted a few details, such as how and where she gained her **** mark, and tried to deflect any hostility towards Kaylen and his teammates.

Vesili stayed slightly apart, not really speaking directly to Dinnae’s relatives, while watching Kaylen, and giving him encouraging smiles when he looked her way. But it still came to a one on one conversation between Kaylen and Dillon.

“I don’t know if there is anything you can do to reassure me of your intentions towards my niece.” Dillon said in a quiet but fierce tone as he and Kaylen stood several yards away from the others. “But I also recognize I have little legal recourse.”

Kaylen nodded, “You’re right, there’s little I can do. I can promise you that I had not intended to buy a ****, and it was only because of my teammates that I decided to try and help Gregory. And when your niece chose to take on his debt, I could not in good conscience deny her.” He omitted any mention of Dinnae’s attempt to use her body to entice Kaylen. Even if he ended up taking her up on that offer it would serve no purpose to admit as much to her uncle.

“Just know that I will hold you responsible for her safety.” The brown-haired man said definitively.

“That is your prerogative.” Kaylen acknowledged. “But I assure you I hold myself responsible for her now that she is indentured to me as well.” His words seemed to mollify Dillon, at least as much as anything was likely to, and the two of them rejoined the rest of the group.

Danny hugged each member of her family one last time, lingering on Gregory as the boy fought not to tear up in front of his older sister. And then the four of them turned back towards the market district to rejoin their team at the armory.

Marian and Rolph Ander were surprised to see them back so soon, and curious to how Dinnae had come to join their group. But she didn’t seem inclined to elaborate on the subject, so neither did Kaylen or his team.

While the blue-eyed **** girl was being fitted, Ursa quizzed her about her limited combat experience and how she approached fights, it seemed they were getting a feeling for what sort of weapon would be suited for her. Something simple to use but which their group could train her to use more proficiently while they were on the road. While the four of them were occupied at the armorer, Lyria, Talindra, and Alanthea returned to the stablemaster to buy a pony for Kaylen’s new servant.

Vesili, meanwhile, stayed next to Kaylen, her expression unreadable with her hood drawn close.

“I have a question for you.” Kaylen said after a moment.

“Question, for me?” Vesili turned, and blinked up at him.

“I wasn’t prying, but I did notice earlier that your thoughts briefly dwelled on your own **** mark after I marked Dinnae.”

“Oh, it’s… I don’t have it anymore, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She rubbed her arm in the same spot, but then stopped when she noticed Kaylen’s gaze follow the movement.

“I’m not worried. But I thought I should let you know that I know, and see if there’s anything you felt I should know about the situation.”

She sighed, looking away. “I didn’t commit a crime. Not one that I was caught for anyways. They just caught me and sold me because of who I am, what I look like.”

“That’s unfair.” Kaylen said fiercely.

“It is what it is. But now that I’m with you, I’m hoping it won’t be a problem going forward.”

“How did you gain your freedom?” Kaylen asked.

She sighed again, “I escaped, then I got it removed. Cost a pretty pence.”

She flinched when Kaylen placed a hand on her shoulder, and finally looked up at him, her large violet eyes moist. “You are free now, and you are my teammate. I will protect you from any threat. You have my word.”

Suddenly, she was hugging him around the waist, sniffling to hold back tears. “I’m sorry I ever judged you harshly.” She murmured.

He chuckled, awkwardly returning her embrace, “I don’t blame you. I probably would have judged me harshly too.”

She giggled softly, then pulled back and swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “Thanks. But uh, maybe don’t mention this to the others.”

“Of course.” He nodded again.

Dinnae and Hali settled on a shorter chainmail tunic than Kaylen and Alanthea were wearing, only a little longer than the leather tunic she’d been wearing presumably to protect her dress from dyes and oils she used as a tanner. Then before leaving the armory – while the girls were selecting weapons for Dinnae – Kaylen purchased a set of sturdy manacles already thinking of several ways he thought they could be useful, though one thought in particular brought a soft smile to his lips.

Finally, the seven of them met back up at the tailor where they purchased several changes of clothes, riding boots, and a few other items to round out Dinnae’s travel wardrobe. Their last stop was to buy a kit of tools Dinnae could use to ply her craft maintaining their equipment, for which she’d been so highly recommended by the hawker.