Daxton - Episode 34
The 5th Compass | Tales of Stonehaven [2,604 words]
Daxton is the first book in the 6-book series, The 5th Compass, which takes place in Stonehaven. Released in serial form, two episodes each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The audio version is coming in the future for paid subscribers only. Visit the table of contents for a list of previously published and upcoming episodes.
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The three travelers decided to walk back to the market to find someplace where they might rest a while before deciding their next course of action. Nelle remembered seeing a local pub where she saw a sign advertising rooms available. It might just be the best place they could hide where no one would recognize them, and no one could find them.
By the time they reached the market square it was practically empty. The people who were there just a few hours ago were all gone home, and the sellers had packed up their things. Left behind were empty wooden tables and large canopy’s, ready for the next day. The only people milling around the streets in this part of the village were those who were staying at any number of seedy establishments sprinkled about, or those who drank heavily. The sun was beginning to set which meant the streets would soon become littered with drunken vagrants.
“Stay close to me, it is not exactly Reapers Walk but it is close enough. Whatever you do, do not go wandering off.” Nelle looked right at Daxton when she made her last statement. She did not want to blame him for the incident with that gang of men earlier, but she felt it was clearly his fault and she did not think luck would shine upon them twice in one day.
They stopped in front of a pub with an illegible sign hanging haphazardly from the doorway. It looked like it had not weathered the many storms that passed through, much like its patrons when they stepped inside. The heat of all the bodies crammed into a rather small location was what hit them first. It was like they had walked right into a wall and immediately had to fight for every breath they took as the mixture of smoke and alcohol filled the air. The only area with an abundance of light came from tall candlesticks all along the bar. The rest of the patrons relied on what little light came from tiny candles left at the center of each table.
Everyone was talking loudly over everyone else and Daxton wondered how any of them could hold a conversation if they couldn’t hear themselves think? While he stood near the bar with Barton, Nelle tried to get the attention of the barman who was busy at the other end preparing drinks for men who looked like they’d had a few too many already. Finished with that side he made his way to the other, passing right by Nelle who was simply not being forceful enough in getting his attention.
She grew frustrated as he walked past her again without so much as a glance in her general direction. A gentleman came up next to her and put his hand up to get the barman’s attention and he received a nod of acknowledgement right away. Nelle gave the man standing next to her a once over, curious as to why he commanded more attention that she did and her eyes grew wide with fear when she recognized the man as Captain Silverblade’s Quartermaster, Wendynn. She quickly hid her face then realized it was pointless to do so. She was in Krieger’s body so he would not recognize her. But what was he doing here? Did his presence mean that The Shadow had moved its location in the channel for some reason? Was Captain Silverblade nearby on shore? Or was Wendynn sent on some secret mission? She wished to know the answers and find out how her best friend has been faring these eighteen years.
The barman stopped right in front of her and leaned in close to Wendynn who whispered something in his ear that Nelle couldn’t quite make out with all the noise. Whatever information was passed between them they both nodded at each other in understanding before Wendynn backed away from the bar. She needed to follow him but wanted to procure a room for the night first. Before the barman could move away again, she reached forwards and grabbed him tightly around his shirt collar. She pulled him close to her face as he tried to grab for something on the bar he could use to defend himself, but nothing was within reach.
“I’d like a room for the night and two pints of your best ale!” she shouted over the noise. “NOW!” She let him go with as much force as she used to grab him, and he stumbled back away from the table in shock. He looked around to make sure none of the men noticed how he was just handled and when he was satisfied no one saw he reached under the bar. Nelle instinctively put her hand on the hilt of the dagger she always kept tucked away just in case. His hand emerged with a large rectangular piece of wood. At one end was a piece of string barely holding a key that dangled from it. He then proceeded to get her two pints of ale which he slammed down in front of her. The froth from on top sloshed around and spilled onto the already damp bar. He thrust his chin towards the left of the bar, upwards, and grunted. She guessed he was showing her the directions to the room. “How much?”
Before she could reach for her purse the barman held a hand up to stop her. He leaned over the bar and said, “on the house.” He did not should it as she was sure he did not want anyone around to hear him speak those words.
“Why?”
He looked at her in disbelief that she did not remember their arrangement. “The royal army always stays here free of charge.” Her eyes grew wide that he knew who she was. She was hoping this place could be a place for them to hide, but not if the owner knows her. She wondered to herself what Krieger got up to when he was not serving the king for him to have amassed such friends and enemies alike. She smiled and nodded at the barman who looked at her strangely as she walked away to find Daxton and Barton were already seated at a table against a wall. It was far enough away from those who were standing around talking loudly that they could at least speak to each other and hear what they were saying.
“What’s this?” Barton asked, excited to see the ale on the table.
“I figured you two gentlemen deserve it, after that chase back at the castle,” she said, taking one of the pints and giving them the other to share.
“I wanted to ask, what was it you did to the sword to make Daxton forgive me so quickly back there?”
“I think Daxton can answer that.” She looked over and Daxton who had nearly forgotten about it.
“Every time our swords met, I was given a rather vivid memory of our friendship. Times when we had the most fun and were just like brothers. I guess you knew all I needed was a bit of reminding to get me to snap out of it?” he asked Nelle. She smiled at him as she took another sip from her mug.
“What do we do now that Riven cannot remember who he gave the compass to?”
“I am more interested in the fact he said there was more than one. How many are there? Why? And more important, where are they? If even one of them was ever in my mother’s possession, finding them can help me find her. I just wish he could’ve told us something useful. The answers I seek are contained in these compasses. I know—.” Daxton stopped speaking when he looked over Nelle’s shoulder to see a man seated behind her turned in this chair, obviously listening to their every word. Nelle and Barton looked at him as he tried to signal to them with his eyes that they needed to only look behind them to see why he stopped speaking.
Curiosity got the better of the man seated at the other table, so he got up and joined them, sitting next to Daxton. When he sat down opposite Nelle, she almost jumped out of her chair with excitement that Wendynn hadn’t actually gone anywhere.
“I couldn’t help but overhear you all were looking for a compass?”
“We are! But not just any compass.”
“Have you tried Rivan—.”
“Yes, we were just there, and he couldn’t help us…” Daxton then started to describe the type of compass he was looking for. He wanted to pull out the one he already had but thought it best to only show it to people he trusted, and he didn’t know who this man was. As he continued his detailed description of the compass, Wendynn’s eyes lit up with recognition.
“I have seen that very compass,” he said, causing Nelle to spit what she just drank all over his face.
“I am so sorry,” she said, completely embarrassed at what she’d just done, but also concerned that he claimed to know where they could find a compass.
“Quite alright,” Wendynn assured her, taking one of his handkerchiefs and wiping his face clean. “As I was saying, I know where you can find what you seek.”
Daxton was skeptical and therefore did not show much of any enthusiasm at what Wendynn just said.
“You know where I can find a compass just like what I described? You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“I swear it. I’ll take you to it.”
Barton was now finding this all too good to be true as well. Up till now they’ve had nothing but bad luck come their way. The odds of a man who happened to be at the right place at the right time having all the answers meant something was about to go terribly wrong. “What do you want in exchange for this information?”
“I want to come with you to find the others.”
This time Barton spit his drink onto Wendynn’s face. And not missing a beat, he wiped himself off with his already rather wet handkerchief.
“Let’s say we stop drinking while we finish the rest of our conversation, shall we?” he said, grabbing both pints that were nearly finished and putting them out of their reach.
For the rest of the night the four of them sat at the table in the tavern as patrons came and went around them, never realizing the conversation they were having was of pirates and legacies.
Nelle was able to get around to the subject of Wendynn, who he was and how he came to be in Ebonthorn. He admitted how nearly eighteen years ago he was sent on a mission to a faraway place, but when he got there the captain of the ship he traveled on decided to leave him stranded. They pressed him on details, but Nelle was elated when he chose not to divulge any. She was also surprised when he revealed the location he traveled to was shared with him on a map. She did not remember doing such a thing and thought perhaps it was so long ago she forgot? But that was an impossibility, she’d forget nothing.
Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, she wasn’t forgetting, it was the part of her currently residing in Krieger’s body was losing its hold on him. Her use of this spell was never meant to last for a long time so the longer she tries to stay where she is the more likely she will just disappear altogether. She spent most of the night listening to Wendynn and trying to calm herself. Should she tell Daxton and Barton what was happening to her or what might happen if she remains in this body for much longer?
The conversation quickly shifted as Daxton was less interested in Wendynn’s exploits as a pirate but more interested in where he’d seen the compass they are looking for?
“Does that mean we have a deal?” he asked, holding his hand out for Daxton to shake.
“If what you say is true, we have a deal.” The two of them shook hands and Nelle surprised a feeling of joy at the sight.
“The compass you seek is hanging in the blacksmith’s workshop. He has a daughter who I have only ever heard him call her, Addy.” Wendynn continued to explain to them all he knew of the blacksmith and his daughter. He also explained about the father’s extreme paranoia. How he is so paranoid he won’t allow anyone in his shop carrying weapons on them and he never goes out at night. He fears what he cannot see and believes everyone is out to get him. He’s expecting to be arrested at any moment and brought before the king for crimes he’s committed but won’t tell anyone about. No one believes his ravings, and everyone felt sorry for his daughter and the abuse she must put up with from her father. “He’s a dangerous man.”
“There’s just one thing I do not understand,” Nelle started to ask. “Why not get the compass yourself if your intent is to go on a journey to find them all?”
He removed the gloves he had been wearing the entire time they were speaking but none of them noticed till now and revealed his hands were badly scarred. “Because this is what it did to me when I tried to take it.”
“That cannot be the compass we’re looking for,” Daxton responded, staring down at Wendynn’s hands.
“How can a compass do that?” Barton asked, looking to Nelle for an answer, but all she could do was shrug. She was just as puzzled as they were about this. If he was speaking of one of the five compasses that were used to contain Silverblade’s soul it was impossible for them to hold anything else. And yet, the powers her brother possesses have always been far greater than her own. Even though his accident caused him to regress back to that of a child, he never actually lost his powers, he just tended to forget how to use them. She’d always feared that one day he’d wake up and remember just how powerful he once was. If that day should ever happen the Paragon would be the least of their worries.
“Whatever the reason was for it to attack me the way it did I cannot go after it. If you are willing to take a chance even after seeing my hands then you are it for me, my last hope to get revenge against the pirate who left me to die.”
Daxton looked to Barton and Nelle who both gave him a look like the decision was his alone to make. He was the one who needed answers that can only come through now finding the other compasses he did not even know existed until today. But this stranger could pose a problem for him later on. His endgame appeared to be revenge, something Daxton did not want to risk having interfere with his only mission. But if his information proved to be good then how could he refuse him the simple request of joining them. He may also prove an asset to them as a pirate for they are all known for being some of the best swordsman, even better than the royal army.
“Tell me, where does this blacksmith live?” Daxton asked as he shook Wendynn’s hand in agreement.