Shepherd's Quest: The Broken Key #1 Page 3

  Once back home he told his mom what had happened. “How could her father agree to this union?” he asked with great emotion. Then he flopped down in a chair.

  “I’m sure he’s doing what he thinks is best for her,” his mother replied.

  He looked at his mother with hurt filled eyes. “Don’t tell me that you agree with this?”

  She shook her head negatively then walked over to him. “Sometimes parents do the wrong thing for the right reason,” she explained as she wrapped her arms about him to offer comfort.

  “Rupert is a swine,” he said. “Someone needs to do something about him.”

  “But not you,” she insisted. “Respect her father’s wishes and do nothing.”

  Riyan abruptly came to his feet and started pacing. “I can’t stay here,” he said as he came to a stop. “I need to get away for awhile.”

  “That’s a good idea,” agreed his mother.

  “I’ll take the flock out for a few days to the edge of the mountains,” he told her. “Chad will be working at the mill for the next week so this would be a good time for me to be alone.”

  “Are you sure you want to go that far?” she asked. “There have been rumors of goblins.”

  He turned his face towards hers and smiled. “There are always rumors of goblins,” he replied. “So far I have yet to come across one and we live as close as anyone.”

  “Still, be careful,” she cautioned.

  “I will,” he promised.

  She insisted on cooking him a good lunch before he started off. Outside, the sheep have already begun their bleating. According to their schedule, they should have been heading out to greener pastures long before now.

  They shared a meal of cooked mutton, potatoes, and bread. Then she packed enough food for him to last several days, even though he planned on using his sling to hunt for food while he was gone.

  As he slung his pack over his shoulder and prepared to head out, she placed her arm on his. “Just think on this while you’re out there,” she began. “Freya has no choice in this, such is the fate of all girls. She’ll need friends like you to lean on.” When he turned his head to look at her, she added, “Lord knows being married to Rupert will not be an easy life.”

  He nodded and hung his head. “I will mother,” he replied. “Why can’t her father see that?” He then gave her a peck on the cheek.

  His mother handed him his staff before he stepped out the door. She went with him to the sheep pen and gave a hand with removing the flock. As he herded the sheep away from the house, she waved goodbye to her son.

  “See you in a few days,” he hollered to her as he left.

  “Be careful,” she cautioned with another wave.

  He then continued herding the flock away from the pen and towards the distant mountains. This wasn’t the first time he had taken the flock towards the mountains on an overnight excursion, usually he would return a day or two later. But this time he planned to go further than he ever had before and didn’t plan on being back for at least four days, maybe longer. He needed time to get over the hurt in his heart.

  For the rest of the afternoon, he continued pushing deeper into the hills. When nightfall came, he stopped the flock near a small stream and settled in for the night. He made sure the flock was accounted for before darkness came. Then he spread out his bedroll and fixed himself a quick bite to eat.

  Later that night as he laid there under the stars, he sobbed.

  “Riyan!”

  Early the following morning, Chad came running down the lane towards the home where Riyan and his mother lived. “Riyan!” he hollered again and then saw that the sheep were not in the pen.

  The front door opened before he reached the house and Riyan’s mother stepped out. “Good morning Chad,” she said.

  “Have you heard?” he asked as he came closer.

  “About Freya and Rupert?” she asked in reply. When he nodded his head, she said, “Yes. Riyan told me about it yesterday.”

  “Was he upset?” he asked.

  “You could say that,” she replied sadly. “He’s taken the flock up near the mountains for a few days. Said you were working at your father’s mill.”

  “I am,” he said. “When I heard about Freya getting married to that piece of trash, I got angry. So my father gave me an hour to come here and talk to him about it.”

  “Sorry you missed him,” she said.

  “So am I.” He turned his gaze towards the mountains. “Tell him to come see me as soon as he gets back will you please?”

  “The minute he gets back,” she assured him.

  “Thank you,” he said then turned and headed back to the mill. Worry for his friend weighed heavily on his mind. So heavy in fact, that once he was back in town and moving down the main street, he failed to notice the individual coming towards him. He almost walked into him.

  He looked up at the last minute and saw his and Riyan’s friend Bart a scant foot in front of him. Bart was a recent arrival to their little town of Quillim. He showed up about a year and a half ago and has worked odd jobs at various farms in the area since. Currently he’s out at old Rebecca’s place helping with tilling her fields. Ever since her sons married and moved away, she’s had a hard time making it.

  At first when Bart had tried using that horse drawn plow of hers, it was a disaster. He couldn’t get the horses to go in a straight line to save his life. But now that he’s been doing it for about a week, he’s started to gain a modicum of proficiency. From what he’s told them, he could do a little bit of everything, the result of having no trade and forced to live on what work he could get here and there.

  The one thing Bart could do that really impressed Chad was how well he threw darts. Now we’re not talking about the darts people used for sport, no. These were the deadly darts that could do some serious damage if they hit you. A few inches longer than the regular darts, these had barbs at the end that became embedded in whatever they hit. If you were to pull it out of your flesh, it would take a chunk of it with it.

  Once when the three of them were out on an overnight camping excursion earlier this summer, he took down a rabbit with one. From that point on Chad’s been calling him Bart the Dart off and on which has annoyed him to no end. Recently though, Rupert and his friends have begun to use the term and not in a friendly manner. Ever since they took to calling him ‘Bart the Dart’, it lost the friendly nuance it once held so he stopped using it.

  Coming to an abrupt halt, he noticed the smile playing across Bart’s face.

  “Was wondering if you were going to see me,” Bart said.

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “Just thinking about Riyan.”

  “You heard?” Bart asked.

  Nodding, Chad said, “Yeah. His mother said he took it rather rough.”

  “I can imagine,” replied Bart.

  “He’s taking the flock up into the hills at the base of the mountains for a few days,” he told him. “I think he needed time to come to grips with it.”

  “Will do him good,” stated Bart.

  Chad looked up the street and groaned, “Oh no.”

  “What?” Bart asked as he turned to look. Coming toward them down the street was Rupert, alone this time. Dressed in his fine clothes, he appeared to be strutting down the street as if he owned it. Which, truth be told, isn’t too far from the truth as his family owned quite a bit of the town.

  He came directly to them and stopped a few feet away. “Either of you seen Riyan this morning?” he asked.

  They both shook their heads and Chad said, “No.”

  “Well if you do, tell him I’m looking for him,” he said.

  “We’ll do that,” Bart assured him.

  “Did you hear I’m getting married?” he asked. When he saw their faces turn into scowls, he grinned. “Guess so. Lovely girl Freya.”

  “You’ve never been interested in her before,” said Chad. “This seems rather sudden.”

  He shrugged. “My father pestered m
e to pick a bride,” he explained. “So I chose her. One’s as good as another if you know what I mean.” Then he laughed and moved past them as he continued on his way.

  “He doesn’t even care for her,” Bart said with barely controlled anger.

  “Six will get you ten that he’s doing it more to anger Riyan than anything else,” Chad said.

  Bart turned and gave him a mischievous grin. “What say we do Riyan a favor then?” he suggested.

  “What do you have in mind?” Chad asked hesitantly. He saw the twinkle in Bart’s eye that always foretold that what he had on his mind would usually land them in trouble. Once when just such a twinkle came to him, the three of them had wound up spending a whole week working in Bocker’s shop. The details leading up to it were far too embarrassing for him to dwell on.

  Bart simply turned and gazed at Rupert’s departing back and smiled. “Can you meet me back here after sundown?” he asked.

  “I think so,” Chad replied. “Need to finish my chores, but I shouldn’t be too long after sundown.”

  “Good,” he nodded. “Riyan’s going to be gone the better part of a week.” Turning back to Chad he continued. “That should give us plenty of time.”

  “Plenty of time for what?” Chad asked.

  “To make life for Rupert a merry hell,” he replied with finality.

  That night after the mill closed, Chad had raced home and flew through his chores. Then after a quick meal with his family, he was out the door on his way into town. He found Bart already at the town square waiting for him. “Sorry I’m late,” he said as he approached his friend.

  “You’re not that late,” he replied. “Didn’t really expect you for another half hour.”

  Chad noticed the bag Bart had slung over his shoulder and asked, “So what are we going to do?”

  Bart directed his gaze to the Sterling Sheep, the only inn and eatery Quillim has. “Rupert and his father are in there having dinner with Freya and her father,” he explained. “They just sat down, so with any luck will remain in there for some time.” Patting the bag slung over his shoulder he added, “Now let’s get to it.”

  “What’s in there?” asked Chad.

  “Just some things I borrowed from a friend of mine,” he replied.

  Chad had thought they were going to the Sterling Sheep, but instead Bart headed off in another direction. It didn’t take him long to realize where he was headed when the estate Rupert called home came into view. “Are you crazy?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Bart assured him. “This will only take a minute or two.”

  The estate was one the largest in the area, three stories tall and the envy of the entire community. It had been in Rupert’s family for years, each generation adding their own touch. The grounds that surrounded it were meticulously kept by a score of servants whose combined wage was more than some families earn in a year or more.

  Upon reaching the lane leading up to the manor house, Bart stopped for a brief moment while he made sure there was no one about. When he saw the coast was clear, he gestured for Chad to follow.

  They ran across the lawn as two shadows in the moonlight. Bart angled towards a vine covered lattice that extended from the ground all the way to the roof’s edge on one end of the house. Once they reached the base he paused and scanned the area one more time. Not seeing anyone, he whispered to Chad as he pointed to the window near the top of the lattice. “That’s Rupert’s room,” he explained.

  Chad nodded and then Bart stepped to the lattice and began to climb. “Be careful,” he warned, “this isn’t very strong.” After he had climbed up several feet, Chad followed.

  He worked his way up to the window and when he came abreast of it, pulled out his knife. Then while gripping the lattice with his left hand, he leaned over and slid the knife blade between the two halves of the window before gently sliding it up. The blade moved up along the crack between the two sections until it met resistance. Pushing harder, he felt the latch that was locking the window from the inside come free.

  He then used his knife to pry the window open. When it swung open, he replaced his knife in its sheath and used his hand to swing the two sections of the window wide. “Come on,” he said as he climbed in through the window. Once inside, he turned and helped Chad through.

  Just as Bart had said, Chad found himself in Rupert’s bedroom. “Now what?” he asked.

  Bart set his bag down on a chair and opened it. “Now we make it look like he’s got a girlfriend,” he replied. From within the bag, he pulled out two pieces of clothing no betrothed man should have in his possession. Rather intimate articles that women wear beneath their clothes.

  “Rumple the bed a little,” he told Chad. “Make it look like he and a girl had a tumble before he left for dinner.”

  Chad grinned and nodded. While he was doing that, Bart laid one of the pieces of clothing on the floor just under the bed. He situated it in such a place that a casual look wouldn’t immediately reveal it. But when the servants came in to clean the room, they would most assuredly discover it. The other he put at the very foot of his bed under the sheets.

  “Toss me his pillow,” he said to Chad.

  Chad took it off the bed and tossed it over to him. “What do you want that for?” he asked.

  Bart grinned and went back over to his bag. He pulled out a small vial with a stopper. Setting the pillow on the table, he opened the vial and rubbed the stopper across the pillowcase.

  From where Chad was standing, he could smell the unmistakable odor of perfume. “That smells like what Mirriam wears,” he observed. Mirriam of course was a very beautiful girl here in Quillim who’s had her sights on Rupert for some time. It’s well known that she’s been after him for years.

  “I know,” he replied with a chuckle. “Let him explain this.” After putting the vial of perfume back in the bag, he pulled out a small jar of rouge, the type girls put on their lips to make them look rosy. Unscrewing the top, he set it on the table next to the pillow.

  Chad came to stand next to him as Bart flipped the pillow over and ever so carefully dipped his finger into the rouge. He watched as Bart used great care in drawing what looks like two lips on Rupert’s pillowcase with the rouge. Once he was done, it looked just like a woman with rouge on her lips had made the mark.

  “What do you think?” Bart asked as he wiped his finger off on a cloth that he had in his bag.

  “He could find all this and get rid of it before someone else discovered it,” Chad said.

  “We’re not done yet,” he replied. After replacing the pillow back on Rupert’s bed with the imprinted lips’ side down, he walked over to a chest of drawers sitting against the wall. There he pulled open the top drawer and began rummaging through it.

  Chad came over with him and saw him take something out of the drawer and place it in the bag. “We’re not thieves!” he insisted quietly.

  “Relax,” Bart replied as he put another item in his bag. “I’m not taking anything of any great value, and I’m sure not going to keep it.”

  “What do you plan to do then?” Chad asked.

  He took one more item then closed the drawer. “Mirriam is going to receive a present from a secret admirer,” he explained with a grin.

  Suddenly, footsteps from the hall beyond the bedroom door came to them. They both froze as they listened to the footsteps draw closer. Only after the footsteps passed by the door and continued down the hallway did they relax.

  “Let’s get out of here,” urged Chad.

  “Alright,” agreed Bart. He took but a moment to make sure everything inside the drawer was exactly like he found it before pushing it closed. When he turned for the window he found Chad already climbing out to the lattice. Moving to join him, Bart swung the bag across his back and reached within his tunic. He pulled forth a thick piece of rolled leather and untied the leather thong that bound it closed.

  He unrolled the piece of leather and then removed one of the small tools secured
within the leather. The tool in question was three inches long with a curved hook at the end. Placing the tool between his teeth, he rolled the leather back up and tied it closed once more with the leather thong. He then replaced the rolled leather within his tunic and begun making his way through the window.

  Once out on the lattice, he looked down and found that Chad had already made it to the bottom and was standing there waiting for him. Turning his attention back to the window, he closed it almost all the way. But before it completely shut, he took the tool he held in his mouth and hooked the end around the arm of the latch used in locking the window.

  He moved the latch upward until it was above the eye ring it latched into. Then he carefully closed the window the rest of the way. Once closed, he lowered the arm of the latch until he felt the end touch the eye ring. With just a quick yank, he sank the latch into the eye ring, thus securing the window from the inside.

  Placing the tool once more between his teeth, he started climbing down the lattice. At the bottom he removed the tool from between his teeth and set it once more within the rolled piece of leather.

  “What’s that?” Chad asked when he saw the tool as Bart was putting it back with the others.

  “Just something my father gave me some time ago,” he replied. “I’ve found they come in useful every now and then.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like them before,” he said.

  Bart nodded at that. “Not too surprising. Now, let’s head back to the Sterling Sheep.”

  “You mean we’re not through yet?” asked Chad.

  “Good heavens no,” replied Bart with a grin.

  Chad followed Bart as he again ran across the lawn to the lane leading back to town. He wondered about his friend. Bart had never gone into very much detail about his life before coming to Quillim, though of course he and Riyan hadn’t been all that curious in the first place. But now he wondered who this Bart could be and what had driven him to choose this area to live in. He was pretty sure he knew what those tools in the piece of leather meant. Though he had never seen their like before, he would bet anything that they were lockpicks.

  Back at the lane leading into town, Bart picked up speed. “Have to get there before they leave,” he said.

  Not understanding the hurry, Chad didn’t really care. This was the most adventure he had ever been a part of. They made their way through the darkened streets until the inn appeared ahead of them.

  When they drew close, Bart had Chad stay back as he went to the window and looked in to the dining area of the Sterling Sheep. He stood there a moment peering inside before turning around and rejoining Chad. “They’re still in there,” he said. “Wait here.” Then without an explanation, Bart returned to the window. While he stood there, Chad saw him remove the jar of rouge and do something with it. In the dark he couldn’t see just what he did. After a few minutes Bart closed the jar and replaced it within the bag.

  Another five minutes passed as he stood there looking in through the window. Then he abruptly turned towards the back of the inn and signaled for Chad to join him. “Whatever you do, don’t make a sound,” he said in a hushed whisper when Chad joined him. “Understand?”

  Chad nodded and then followed him to the rear of the inn. They reached the rear courtyard just as a figure exited from the back door. Even in the shadows of the courtyard, Chad recognized Rupert’s silhouette. He was walking across the courtyard to the jakes along the rear wall.

  Bart motioned for Chad to stop while he continued toward Rupert. Chad was amazed at how silently Bart was able to move. Other than Rupert’s footsteps and the music coming from the inn, no other sound disturbed the quiet of the courtyard. Then just as Rupert opened the door to the jakes, Bart grabbed him. Putting one hand alongside his throat and the other on his back, Bart pushed him into the jakes and shut the door.

  Chad saw Bart motioning for him to hurry and join him. He hurried over and Bart indicated for him to keep the door closed.

  Bang!

  Rupert struck the door from the inside and Chad almost failed to keep it closed. “Let me out!” he hollered.

  Chad looked to Bart who was now on his knees before the door and looked to be sliding something between the door jamb and the door about a third of the way up from the ground.

  Bang!

  Again Rupert hit the door and the force of the blow knocked out whatever Bart had been sliding into place. Picking it up off the ground, he again worked to get it into place.

  “Help!” yelled Rupert. “I’m being attacked!”

  Then all of a sudden, Bart stood up. In the moonlight Chad could see he was holding a string that was attached to whatever it was he placed within the crack between the door and the door jamb.

  “Come on,” Bart whispered as he began moving away from the jakes.

  Bang!

  As they hurried to the side of the courtyard that was deep in shadows, Rupert again hit the door in an attempt to get out. And to Chad’s amazement, the door held.

  Bart brought them to a stop as soon as the string he held had reached its end. They stood there in the darkness as Rupert continued hollering for help and trying to break his way out. Fortunately the music within the dining area of the inn was loud enough to drown out his cries.

  They waited for at least five minutes before another person left the inn on their way to the jakes. When Bart saw the man leaving the inn, he pulled the string. The wedge he had keeping the door to the jakes’ closed came free and the door swung open.

  Chad about laughed when Rupert came stumbling out and crashed down into the dirt before the jakes. The man who was leaving the inn rushed over to help him but Rupert knocked away his hand and got to his feet. What he said to the man couldn’t be heard, but they saw the way he stalked back to the inn.

  The following morning when Chad was at the mill working the giant grinding stones that turned grain into flour, his younger brother Eryl came running in all excited. “Did you hear?” he asked his brother.

  “Hear what?” replied Chad.

  “Last night at the Sterling Sheep…” his brother began but was forced to stop and catch his breath. Obviously he felt that what he had to say was so good that he ran the whole way to tell him. By this time their father had moved closer to hear.

  “The magistrate and his son Rupert were dining with Freya and her father,” he continued. “Apparently Rupert had gone out back and dallied with some girl.” He turned to his father. “And with his betrothed there waiting for his return.” His eyes gleamed, every kid in Quillim hated Rupert and any story that showed him in a bad light was like gold.

  “He claimed someone locked him in the jakes,” Eryl said in a tone that said he didn’t believe it. “But when he returned to the inn, there was rouge on his neck that people say looked just like a woman kissed him.” He laughed. “As it turned out, Freya wasn’t wearing any that night.”

  Their father smiled as he too didn’t care much for Rupert. He did feel sorry for Freya though, it must have been a humiliation.

  “Rupert is still saying he didn’t do anything and is sticking to his story,” Eryl explained. “But really papa, who is going to believe such a story?”

  Chad grinned to himself as the grinding wheel continued to turn grain into flour. Who indeed? Bart had explained to him last night after they left the vicinity of the Sterling Sheep how he had put rouge on his hand in the shape of a girl’s lips. So that when he grabbed Rupert by the neck and threw him in the jakes, it would come off and leave the tell-tale mark.

  “Are they still betrothed?” asked Chad.

  “I hadn’t heard,” his brother replied. “But her father took it hard.”

  “I can imagine,” their father said. Then to Eryl he added, “Don’t you have chores at home you should be doing?”

  “Yes papa,” he replied and turned to head out the door.

  “Another hour or two and the flour will be ready,” Chad’s father said before he too left.

  Chad nodd
ed in reply. The rest of the afternoon was spent in grinding flour. How he hated doing this. Last night when he and Bart were, as Bart said ‘making Rupert’s life a merry hell’, he had felt more alive than ever before. But all in all, he’d rather be doing this than be in Rupert’s shoes right about now.

  Chapter Four

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