War of the Fathers by Dan Decker
Chapter 7
Tere spent the day scouting Neberan, which despite its small size was dusty from all the traffic. The biggest buildings were a boarding house, an inn, and a one-room schoolhouse. He was surprised at the number of shops in town, but he assumed that meant most of the farmers in the surrounding area did their business here.
At least there was a school. Most towns this far away from major cities didn’t have one and children were educated only if there was nothing better for them to do. All the towns surrounding Rarbon had at least one school and several teachers, even the towns that were small enough they barely qualified to be called such.
Tere had made the right decision to leave Tarner and Lous. The people he passed refused to make eye contact with him and when they thought he wasn’t looking would stare at his sword. Three armed men would have been a cause for concern. As it was, one stranger with a sword would be enough to cause gossip.
Instead of asking questions right off, he looked around and told anyone that asked—there were few of those—that he was passing through on his way to Zecarani and was in need of supplies. He wasn’t expecting to learn anything that way but knew people would clam up the moment they felt unsure about him. However, if a merchant thought that he was interested in buying something, a casual question could elicit useful information.
Tere was in the middle of a conversation outside a leather merchant's shop about a new coat he didn’t need, when he noticed a tall young man that had a familiar look to him. Tere couldn't quite place what made the man stick out. Was it his build, sword, light brown hair, or the way he walked with an arrogant confidence? His search had already been a long enough road that he didn't trust the feeling of familiarity. He'd experienced the same thing many times in his hunt for Adar and it had always led to a dead end. Tere's eye began to itch and he did his best to wipe the dust on his face away from his eyes. He only succeeded in making both eyes water.
The kid must have noticed him because he stared at Tere. The kid was with a woman who looked like she was angry about something. He'd seen that same expression on Larae many times.
The leather merchant, Timor, noticed Tere looking at the couple. “That leather coat on Jorad? Best work I’ve done. I could make you one like that for three juen of silver.”
Tere’s heart must have stopped, but he managed to cover his surprise. Jorad had his sword strapped to his back, like a Radim. It was one of the few swords Tere had seen today in Neberan.
Jorad wasn’t a common name in Rarbon, but this far west it wasn’t uncommon at all to find two or three men in a village named Jorad. In the early days of the search when they would ask for anybody named Jorad, they’d get half a dozen leads. They hadn’t asked after the name often. Adar would have stopped using their real names, or so Tere had assumed. Maybe Adar was slipping.
The boy seemed surprised to see Tere. Had he recognized something about Tere or something from Rarbon? Jorad had known Tere as a small boy, but that was long enough ago that Tere wasn’t worried he'd be recognized. Tere doubted the boy had recognized anything from Rarbon because he’d been careful to dress in clothing that didn’t proclaim him to be anything other than a man with a sword. He'd even covered the hilt of his sword with cloth, hiding the distinctive marks.
The young man Timor had indicated, looked like Adar and seemed to have something of Nelion in him as well. That could just be Tere’s imagination playing a trick on him. Searching for something for so long made it easy to see things that didn’t exist.
Jorad walked faster and the woman with him ran to catch up. Tere thanked Timor and left but not before he mentioned that he might be back for the coat. It was best to keep up appearances, even if it might not be necessary any longer.
What were the chances of Tere finding a man named Jorad, who carried a sword in a place where most others didn’t, that had recognized something about Tere?
Once he mounted his horse, Tere had to restrain from galloping out of town. Now that he had found them, he didn’t want to mess up. So as much as it bothered him, he continued at a walk on the road out of Neberan. With every passing moment he became more anxious and worried. This was the best lead since Adar had disappeared and Tere’s men were half a mile out of town. It had seemed a small thing to leave them, but now Tere cursed his decision. He’d become careless. He smiled at some of the people he passed but they didn’t return it and looked straight ahead pretending not to notice. So much for the rumored hospitality of the west.
Tere alone might be a match for Adar, but together with Lous and Tarner they should be able to take him. Even though it had been years, Tere was certain that Adar would still be in shape. The man had been diligent about his training even when he was going through the trials. He wouldn’t have become lax now.
Tere snorted. Adar had always been driven as though somebody were cracking a whip over his head. Tere doubted that Adar lacked the motivation to continue his training. Living life on the run would be reason enough.
Tere reached the edge of town, made sure no one was around and urged his horse to a gallop.