The Last few Errands before their Departure – 3C-HH

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. “This is Dinnae Thatcher and her brother Gregory.” Kaylen gestured for Danny to step forward, as Lyria, Ursa, and Alanthea all regarded the newcomers together. “They are tanners, and Gregory was being sold to pay off debts, but Dinnae offered to serve in his place, so, as Vesili put it, I purchased her to spare her from someone cruel.”

“When you said you needed to see it for yourself, I didn’t expect you to actually buy someone.” Lyria said, as she glanced between him, Dinnae, and Vesili, who nodded to confirm she had indeed recommended the sale before Lyria turned back to the brown-haired **** girl.

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

“Dinnae is, yes, though I agreed to deliver her brother Gregory to his uncle before we leave. Danny is a tanner, so she can help maintain our equipment in the field, and handle other tasks as well should we need her to.” Kaylen explained.

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

“Let’s not get grumpy at each other.” Alayni piped up, putting her small frame between the towering Ursa and Kaylen’s new indentured servant. “We’ve got monsters to kill, no need to start fighting with each other.”

Ursa didn’t respond right away, but Dinnae spoke up for herself, “I’ve been in a few fights.” She began. “But… well I don’t have much formal training with anything other than a knife. Not that I’d expect you to let me carry a weapon.” She added with a shrug, turning back to Kaylen.

“You didn’t read the contract. Giving you a weapon isn’t an issue with the way the mark works.” Kaylen told her. “We won’t prevent you from defending yourself.”

“A knife can be a solid weapon, depending on the situation.” Lyria told Danny.

“Especially if your opponent doesn’t know you have it.” Vesili added.

Ursa scowled, but remained silent, until Kaylen turned back to her, “If you have concerns, I would hear them, but Alayni’s right, we can discuss the matter without arguing.”

“I’m concerned she could be a liability in combat.” Ursa said carefully. “You hired me to defend you, if I have to look after her too, it could limit my ability to do both.”

“I wasn’t planning to bring her into combat with us.” Kaylen assured her.

“We won’t always have the choice.” Lyria cut in. “We could be ambushed by bandits, or run into a frenzied monster on the road. Keeping her safe will be a consideration. Not an insurmountable challenge, but still one more thing to keep in mind.”

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

“I can’t take you if you’re not indentured to me.” Kaylen told the brown-haired boy. “It could 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. The Master Mage 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.

“I don’t plan to let anything happen to her.” Kaylen assured the blue-eyed boy.

“Kaylen gave me a chance.” Vesili spoke up, adding her input. “And I trust him and the team he put together to keep me safe, and I’m sure we’ll all do our part to keep Dinnae safe as well.” She glanced at Kaylen, then her other assembled teammates.

“No, you’re right.” Ursa acknowledged. “I guess I overreacted.”

“I do want to hear when you have concerns, Ursa.” Kaylen assured the half-giant. “We will take steps to ensure you don’t have to shoulder the extra burden on your own.”

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

Dinnae looked down, embarassed, but Kaylen interjected. “She asked that I place the mark someplace less immediately visible, and I honored that request.”

“I see.” Alanthea looked Dinnae up and down, no doubt wondering just where the mark had been placed.

Kaylen decided to step in once again before Alanthea made Dinnae too uncomfortable. “I’m sure you’ll have a chance to learn more about each other, but right now, we need to make certain Gregory gets back to his relatives, then we have a few more purchases to make before we can get on the road now that we have a seventh party member.”

“Thank you again.” Dinnae turned to address Kaylen. “I’m sorry if I’ve caused you any trouble.”

“You are welcome.” He replied warmly.

“Hey.” Lyria put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You’re part of the team now, and we take care of our team.” She turned to look at every member of the team in turn.

“Do we want to split up?” She suggested after a moment, turning back to Kaylen. “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 will accompany them as well.” Kaylen added. “But 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.

“Alright, I guess that will work.” Kaylen’s sister agreed. “Where shall we meet up after?”

“Ander’s Armory. We’ll get her fitted for her own chainmail tunic, and I want to get her a defensive weapon too, if no one objects.”

“You said the mark prevents her from attacking you?” Lyria asked, wanting the matter clarified.

“More or less. It should prevent her from being hostile towards me or anyone she perceives as my ally. She willingly signed the contract, and thus the magic is more binding and more specific than on other slaves with a more generally applied mark.”

“Then I think she should have a weapon to defend herself with.” Lyria agreed, and no one else objected.

From there, they split up, and Kaylen went with Vesili, 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, “I understand your concerns, and I wish I could do more to allay them. What I can say is that I had not originally intended to buy a ****. My teammates urged me to do so in order to spare Gregory from a worse fate. And, it was your niece who chose to take on his debt and become indentured in his place.” He didn’t think it would help to mention Dinnae had tried to use her body to tempt him, even if he could explain he had no intention of taking her up on the offer. At least not until such time as he could be sure it was genuine and not simply a ploy to protect her brother.

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

“I would expect nothing less.” Kaylen made a short bow, which 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. Alanthea, meanwhile, stayed next to Kaylen, so they could talk in low tones.

“I’m curious about your girl.” She began. “Will you tell me where you put your **** mark on her?”

Kaylen raised an eyebrow at the pale-haired girl, “It’s up to her to decide if she wants to share that.” He said simply.

She huffed softly, her brows drawing together, “I do not think she wants to talk to me.”

“I think you might unsettle her.” Kaylen suggested.

“Could you express my interest to her?” She pleaded.

“If I have a good opportunity, I will convey your curiosity to her.” He agreed.

“Thank you.” She gave him an elegant curtsy.

“You are welcome.”

While the four of them were occupied at the armorer, Lyria, Alayni, and Vesili returned to the stablemaster to buy a pony for Kaylen’s new servant.

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 noticed a set of sturdy manacles and decided to pick those up as well, though he kept the purchase to himself as he wasn’t totally certain what he was going to use them for, just that they might prove useful.

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.