This story is being rewritten! The new version, A Price in Memory, can be found here.

I highly suggest you read the new version as this one won't be completed. Also, there has been a lot of changes so you won't be able to continue with the other where this one left off.

Y’rid looked towards the city as it came into view. High stonewalls surrounded the hill on which it was built. Halfway up the hill, a second set of walls shielded a massive structure several stories high with towers growing out of it in a haphazard manner giving off an oppressive atmosphere.

It was the oldest city in the Imorril Forrest, through which they had been treading the past seven days. Lok had started as a keep, built centuries ago. Over time it kept expanding, eventually swallowing the surrounding buildings until it reached its current state. Unable to expand further, new buildings were constructed around the outside of the walls as the lower class citizens were pushed out of the inner ‘city’.

In time, a new wall was erected to shield the outer region from danger, forming the city’s current appearance. A single entity that housed less than a third of the city’s population and took up more than half of its space, surrounded with the sprawling ‘poor’ quarter.

At least that is what Holin had told him when he asked about their destination. Over the past couple of days, he had spent some time talking to the four hunters and some of the other refugees, learning more about his surroundings, something the previous Y’rid never really cared about.

It was already well past noon with the sun nearing the three-quarter mark in the sky as they exited the tree line. In the same manner as Riversedge, the forest had been cleared for nearly three hundred metres around the city to allow at least some measure of warning if beasts tried to approach.

The four-day trip had ended up taking nearly twice as long as they had been forced to stop early each day as nearly four hundred people sought out what food they could find.

The hunters, guards and mercenaries had to spend a few hours each day in the forest hunting for food to supply themselves and those they cared about. While others got only what edible plants and berries they could find, or a few mouthfuls of watered down broth sold at exorbitant prices or the promise of debt.

Of course, this didn’t apply to the nobles and merchants as they always took their share first, since most of the guards and mercenaries were in their employ, to begin with.

Holin and the rest also contributed what they could spare from hunts, gaining a bit of goodwill from the poorer refugees and easing their wariness some, but the four of them could only do so much. Y’rid started helping Holin and Kali set up traps for small animals after the man had shown him how. Most mornings he found them empty though.

During the day Y’rid would travel with Holin, slowly he learned how to walk through the forest and what the weaknesses of the more common beasts were. He had yet to actually hunt anything himself since the smaller animals required stealth, and the beasts required skill, he didn’t yet possess. But he was making progress, albeit slowly, and the thought kept him going.

Evenings would find him and Holin sparring or going through basic sword forms and movements. These he picked up with noticeable ease. Holin even let him borrow one of his shortswords during their sparring, claiming that learning how to fight with a longsword if he planned on using a shorter blade would not only be a waste of time, but might also end up teaching him bad habits when he switched over.

Y’rid tended to agree with him on that. The moment he started practising with the shorter blade he could feel a distinct difference. It felt more natural, the forms and strikes more fluid. It just felt right. He was still missing a shield, though, but when he brought up the subject Holin had laughed at him.

“Shield?” the man had asked. “You want a shield? In case you haven’t been paying attention, we’re not fighting men. A shield wouldn’t even inconvenience an ald with more than four times your weight and a steelwolf would simply slip past it as if it wasn’t there in the first place.

“Shields have no place in a fight against a beast, quite simply because there is no fighting against beasts, only killing. The best you could hope for is to use it to deflect strikes, and a shield was made to block more…”

His voice trailed off and he stared at Y’rid as a frown slowly creased his eyebrows.

“Perhaps…” he mused to himself, “yes… perhaps that might work.”

“A shield is out of the question, but a weighted bracer…” The corner of his mouth curled upward as a questionable glint appeared in his eyes. “That might work. I tried one for a while but could never get used to it, takes a lot of practice to use properly. I have seen it done, though, and if paired with an agile weapon it can be… devastating.”

“A weighted bracer?” Y’rid asked unfamiliar with the concept.

“Yes, a bracer combined with a heavy metal plate. They are designed for redirecting attacks. Opening up an opponent for a clear strike. Quick and close. I can teach you the basics, but there is someone at Stronghold that can take it a step further.”

“Yes,” he said nodding to himself as his smile took on a predatory look.

“Are you listening?” Hadi asked tugging on Y’rid’s leggings to get his attention.

Y’rid looked down at him and smiled.

“I’m listening, you almost caught the thieving lizard.”

Hadi gave him a suspicious look before continuing with the story, telling Y’rid of his own hunt of one of the forest lizards that scavenged anything edible they could from the campsites.

The boy had begun growing more comfortable around the group after the first few days. Kali helped a lot with that, teaching him the names and habits of the birds and small animals that they saw on the road and around the camp they set up each afternoon. Something he took to with great enthusiasm.

It was nice to see the boy take an interest in something, which he felt was a sure sign that Hadi was recovering from the trauma he had suffered. Hadi did still sometimes wake up screaming in the middle of the night, but other than trying to reassure the boy, there wasn’t much he could do about that. And while he supposed that only time would be able to truly heal Hadi’s mind, seeing progress being made had lifted a burden from him that hadn’t known was there.

The line of people crossed the open field towards Lok. As the neared the city a group of people came out of the gates and awaited them. Y’rid recognised their armour as being part of the Blackguard. It must have been the advance party the city lord had sent out yesterday. Among them stood another group guards wearing similar uniforms and a tall man in a robe.

As they reached the gate, the robed man approached the carriages belonging to the lord of Riversedge, after which the carriages continued through the gates followed by the rest of the nobles and the mage’s caravan.

The rest of the people were organised in a rough line as the robed man produced a scroll and started to take down the names of the people entering the city.

Being near the back of the line meant that Y’rid and the others were some of the last to head through. By then the scribe seemed thoroughly annoyed at the job he had been given but a quick look at Rhone and the rest forced him to put a smile on his face as he took down their names and waved them through.

The city gates were framed by an arch of glowing runes, reminding Y’rid of those he had seen at Riversedge. Stepping through it he felt the familiar chill running over him confirming his suspicion.

“Are shapeshifters really so common?” Y’rid asked Kali who was walking beside him and Hadi. “There seem to be all these measures against them yet we haven’t seen one all the way here.”

Kali shook her head.

“They are quite rare actually. But it only takes one or two to wreak havoc in a city like this. Once it’s inside it can feast on anyone it finds before simply taking on a different appearance. I heard it started a long time ago, before these detection arches were common. A few of them wandered into a city and a few weeks later the city fell.

They aren’t very powerful beasts but the suspicion and fear they sow is what makes them terrifying. Not knowing whether the person you see passing you on the streets is a human did much more damage than the shapeshifters themselves.

People began attacking others out of fear if they judged them as suspicious, and this fear was the very thing that caused them to appear suspicious to others. A cycle that caused the whole city to descend into chaos and weakened its defences, attracting even more beasts in the process.

It wasn’t long after that the detection arches became a necessity. Just having them reassures the people, even if most will go there entire lives without ever hearing of a sighting of a shapeshifter.”

…These people are already outclassed by beasts, the only thing they have in their favour is numbers. If they start to turn on each other…

Suddenly it made sense why people went through all of this trouble to keep these creatures away. Y’rid forced the thought from his mind as he started to study his surroundings.

The streets of Lok were narrower than those at Riversedge, the buildings seemingly packed closer together, utilising every bit of space they could, with cramped alleyways running between them.

Rhone turned towards the others.

“We don’t have much time left before the shops close and I want to leave early tomorrow. Kali, would you and Red go and purchase the supplies?”

“Sure,” she answered and Red gave a nod.

“Ok, I’ll go and get us rooms at the Tankard, they had decent prices last I recall. Holin, can you see to getting a d’yar? I don’t want us too weighed down to act if we run across trouble”

“Can’t,” Holin said. “We need to get Y’rid and the boy some supplies… and new clothes. Just being around that thing he calls a shirt is robbing me of my sense of smell.”

Y’rid looked down at his shirt. It was torn and stained with dried blood and dirt, its original colour only a memory. He hadn’t really noticed the smell, but then again he might just be used to it, and having some extra clothes seemed like a very attractive prospect now that he thought about it.

“Don’t worry. Red and I will take care of it,” Kali said.

Rhone looked towards them and nodded.

“Right. Then meet me at the inn in two hours’ time?”

“Sounds good,” Kali said as she and the others split off, leaving Holin, Hadi and himself.

“Come on,” Holin said, “I know an arms dealer with a rather impressive range of weaponry and armour.”

The man gave him a weighing look.

“I don’t suppose you have any coin?” He asked.

“I do actually,” Y'rid said producing heavy gold coins he got from the mage’s experiment and the change he got from the innkeeper at Riversedge.

Holin raised an eyebrow seeing this and quickly snatched one of the mage’s coins from his hand. He raised the coin to his face and inspected it.

“Therien gold. Where did you get this? No wait, why in the hells are you walking around in rags when you have this?” The man asked.

“I never got a chance to spend it,” Y’rid said before holding up one of the gold coins he got from the innkeeper. “I assume it’s worth more than these?”

Holin looked at the coin and laughed.

“A lot more.”

His thoughts went back to the innkeeper. Back then he thought the man had seemed a bit too eager when he saw the coin, even if the man had hidden it rather well.

“How much more?”

“Therien gold is the purest coins you get,” Holin said. “What you’re holding there is common trade gold. Not nearly as pure. A Therien mark is worth five to ten trade gold pieces, depending on their weight. Didn’t you ever learn this?”

Y’rid shook his head, “Wasn’t really in a position to need to, if you couldn’t tell.”

‘Five to ten’, and he gave me two. Three gold pieces for a room worth two silver.

He shook his head. Even if the man was most likely dead, he couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed at the thought.

Holin narrowed his eyes.

“That’s the expression of a man that just realised he’d been done in. Any chance you had three of the marks?”

Y’rid hesitated before nodding.

“What did you buy?” the man asked tonelessly, though Y’rid thought he saw a flicker of amusement in those pale red eyes.

“A room at an inn,” Y’rid answered grudgingly.

A short moment of silence passed before Holin burst out laughing. It took him a whole minute before he finally stopped, his joy obviously increasing as Y’rid’s expression became increasingly dark, even Hadi joined in after a while.

“Come on,” Holin said still chuckling as he flicked the mark back to Y’rid. “We really don’t have much time left before the shops start closing.”

They quickly made their way through the streets moving deeper into the city and up the foot of the hill. The buildings appeared to be getting bigger the nearer they got to the inner wall, here and there some could be seen that were made of stone instead of the wood that clustered the outer edges of the city.

Most of the larger shops were found near the inner wall, turning the area into an unspoken merchant quarter. It was here that Y’rid bought a few pairs of clothing each, from tailor’s shop, for himself and Hadi, along with two backpacks in which to place them as well as a few bits and pieces such as they might find necessary on the way to Stronghold. Simple tarps to form a makeshift tent and blankets in case it got colder.

Getting out of his stained rags came with a relief that surprised even him. The feeling of wearing clean clothes a welcome change. He used his old clothes to wrap up the longsword he still carried, having had enough of the wary gazes people kept casting his way when he walked with the drawn weapon.

They continued on their way as Holin led them through the streets, seemingly familiar with the place, until they reached a large stone building with an open heavy wooden door reinforced with iron. Above the doorway hung a sign that depicted a sword and an axe crossed behind a helm above which a few unknown words were written.

Holin stepped through the doorway with Y’rid and Hadi on his heels. Weapons of all kinds were hanging on the wooden racks littering the shop, even spilling over to the walls. Opposite the entrance was a stern-looking man dressed in leathers and sitting on a chair, a heavy mace resting against his leg to dissuade potential thieves from trying their luck.

“Welcome!” An enthusiastic voice came from the side.

Y’rid turned to find a short man standing up behind a counter.

“Here at Jhoel’s-“ the man stopped mid-sentence and stared at them, or at the hunter, to be more precise.

“Holin!” the man shouted, hurrying over to greet the man in question. “It’s good to see you. You haven’t been around in an age! I thought you were dead.”

“Jhoel,” Holin said with his usual smile as the short man launched into a monologue composed of questions the other man never got the chance to answer.

Taken aback, Y’rid realised he had got used to the red-eyed hunters being treated with wariness and suspicion wherever they went. It surprised him even more that the man was talking like this to Holin of all people. It had taken himself a few days to get used to the strange atmosphere the man seemed to generate. This Jhoel didn’t seem to have any such reservations though.

“Unfortunately this isn’t a social visit,” Holin said when the man paused to take a breath. “We are here to get some equipment for Y’rid here.”

“Oh?” The man said, seeming to only now notice that he was standing next to Holin. His surprise disappeared as quickly as it came, though, replaced by a sly smile and a glint in his eye. “What are you looking for?”

“A shortsword and some armour,” he replied.

“Ah yes! A small blade for those quick opponents, and a spare of course, in case the first one grows feet, perhaps a dagger as well? And a skinning knife, no hunter worth his salt would travel without one. I see you already have a big sword for large beasties, but you’ll need a sheath though,” Jhoel said with barely a breath between sentences as he gestured towards the cloth wrapped long sword Y’rid was carrying.

“Luckily you came to the right place, as I can supply all of those things. And then the armour, how could I forget? I have full plate that’ll turn an ald’s strike, and leathers darker than night itself. A pair of each, yes? A silent hunter when needed and a giant of steel when the time calls.

Some oils to maintain their integrity is a definite requirement, but of course, a discerning hunter such as yourself knew that, and that being the case, you’ll be happy to know that I just received a shipment of the rarest preserverants from the great Split. They even keep away those nasty insects, a sting at the wrong time and it could lead to dire consequences-“

Y’rid stared at the man as he continued rambling off a list of items he was certain would be needed, arms swinging in over exaggerated gestures to imprint their importance.

Y’rid looked towards Holin for help, but the man leaned back against the doorway, clearly amused at the scene.

“No,” Y’rid interrupted the man after a few moments and held up a hand. “I only need a single sword and a set of armour. And I want to sell the longsword.”

The merchant frowned at his words, though he quickly perked up again at the mention of the wrapped sword.

“Well, let’s have a look then,” Jhoel said gesturing to the counter.

Y’rid unwrapped the sword and placed it on top of the wooden platform. Moving up to the blade, Jhoel ran his hand over the steel before picking up the blade.

“Good steel. Above average craftsmanship. But the edge is a bit damaged, and is that a crack? Difficult to tell but it does seem so,” he sighed shaking his head sadly. “Might even have to reforge the blade, now that I think about it. I’ll tell you what, since you’re with Holin, I’ll give you ten silver pieces for it. I’ll even through in a small discount on the shortsword.”

“Come now Jhoel,” Holin said, finally stepping in. “There is no crack in the blade, and that’s Drav steel, don’t tell me you didn’t recognise it. The price of that alone would be nearly a gold piece, if you take into account the craftsmanship then a fair price would be closer to three pieces.”

“Absurdity!” The merchant shouted, looking personally affronted. “The price of Drav is on the decline, it is not worth nearly as much as it was, and this blade has so many chips I might as well sell it as a saw!”

Y’rid watched as the small merchant tried to stare down the red-eyed hunter. Holin merely chuckled and began lauding the blade’s merits while the merchant kept berating it. After a few minutes of back and forth, the price was settled at a gold piece and twenty silver.

“Good, good,” the merchant said with a grin before continuing, all signs of his earlier outrage wiped away, as if it had never been there in the first place.

“So a shortsword and armour you say,” the man said and showed them to two of the wooden racks that were filled with blades in different shapes all ranging around half a metre in length.

“You have any weighted bracers?” Holin asked.

“Weighted bracers? You mean the ones’ the Slaan like to use?” The man asked. “I think I have one or two here somewhere, not exactly great sellers, those.”

The man started walking off to the other side of the shop with Holin following.

Y’rid looked through the blades carefully. He immediately discarded all of the curved blades. One of the strengths of a shorter blade was thrusting attacks, which was much harder to do with such weapons.

He eliminated a few more options as he inspected the swords and gave a few practice swings with each. he kept on narrowing down the choices until he was finally down to two. A single-edged sword with a straight back and ending in an angled cross-section, and a double-edged sword whose blade started off at about an inch-and-a-half wide at the hilt and slowly tapered down to a sharp tip.

“What do you think?” Y’rid asked Hadi standing at his side.

The boy frowned in concentration, seeming to take the matter very seriously before he pointed at the second sword.

The blade was about half a metre long with the hilt adding a quarter of that. It was made of a dark steel he didn’t recognise and heavier than he expected, while the hilt was of some type of beast horn.

Just like the other blade, it felt comfortable in his hand, and the tapered blade would make it more suitable to quick stabs which he liked. Y’rid nodded, having made up his mind and took the blade and its sheath off the rack.

“Wonderful choice!” the merchant’s voice came from the side of the shop. Y’rid looked in the direction to see him and Holin walking towards him.

“What type of metal is this?” Y’rid asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Ah, that is the finest Blackmountain-alloy you have there. Incredibly durable and very rare,” Jhoel said.

“Not that rare,” Holin corrected. “Just uncommon given the distance from Blackmoutain to the Imorril forest. It is very strong though, a good choice… if you don’t mind spending half a day to sharpen the blade.”

Jhoel gave Holin a sidelong glare before turning back to Y’rid

“That may be true but it also means that it will keep its edge better that most other metals. And-“

“Yes-yes,” Holin interrupted. “I think he already decided on that blade. Here, have a look at this.”

Holin handed him the bracer he carried. Y’rid reached out and took hold of it, only to almost drop it when the man let go. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the strange bracer. It was heavy. Heavier than the Blackguard sword.

“How am I supposed to fight with this thing?” He asked looking doubtfully at Holin.

“With practice,” the man said. “You should take it off as little as possible. Eventually you’ll get used to the weight… or maybe you won’t. But if you can learn to use that thing correctly, then it’ll mean much more than a shield.”

It covered his left forearm completely and had an inch-thick metal plate attached to it, curving slightly around the outside of his arm and extending all the way to his knuckles. The inside of the bracer consisted of thick padding that morphed into a glove with open fingers.

He swung his arm through the air a few times to get a feel for it. It felt strange, like having a shield morphed into his arm. The weight threw him a little off balance, but he thought he would be able to get used to it, though how much use it would be remained to be seen.

“I’ll give it a try,” he said.

Holin grinned.

“Good.”

After that Y’rid looked through Jhoel’s armour, as the man praised each piece that managed to catch his eye. He ended up settling for a set of leather armour reinforced with steel at the joints and chest. He had originally planned on getting something heavier but after seeing some of the beasts in the forest, he had come to the conclusion that no armour could stand against them.

The way to fight against them was to avoid getting struck at all, and heavier armour would only slow him down and restrict his movement. That said armour did have its place against some of the smaller more agile creatures, so he settled on something in the middle.

He also ended up buying a dagger for himself and a knife for Hadi, eventually giving in to the boy’s pleading. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but Holin convinced him that the boy should get comfortable around blades, a thought he found disturbing, yet was unable to argue with. After all, just being alive in the Imorril forest seemed dangerous in and of itself.

After another round of haggling with the merchant, they settled on a cost of a therein mark and eight trade gold pieces. This along with the earlier expenses left Y’rid with a single trade piece and seven silver.

But he was satisfied, finally being able to get out of his torn rags and into some armour felt right. Having a proper sheath for his sword also helped. The weighted bracer didn’t though, but he told Holin he would try it out so he would, he owed the man much more than that after all.

***

Rhone sat in the corner of the packed tavern drinking ale from a mug. The Leaking Tankard was just as he remembered it, even if he hadn't been here for a long time. The big fireplace heated up the stonewalls and provided a pleasant atmosphere making it one of the favourite social gathering points in the outer quarter.

Serving maids swerved between rowdy patrons as they carried trays of mugs, the sound of many voices in conversation overlaying each other in a light-hearted drone. Even so, it did little to improve his mood.

A tipsy man stumbled in his direction, aiming for one of the chairs at his empty table.

“Greetings my fellow-“

The man’s voice halted as he met Rhone’s gaze. Holding up his hands the man backed away, retreating to another part of the tavern.

Rhone mentally cursed himself for not trying to act more friendly. They had a bad enough reputation already without him making things worse. And this after he frequently told the others to try to make a good impression.

Swallowing the last of his ale he called over one of the serving girls with a gesture.

The girl hurried over as her golden eyes focused on him, her black hair and dark skin hinting at Anuneri origins.

“H-how can I help?” the girl said, a slight stutter betraying her nervousness.

“Just another mug,” Rhone said giving her a friendly smile that seemed to ease her tension, if only a little.

“Coming up,” she said before hurrying away.

At least they’re not attacking on sight… or screaming in terror.

Rhone thought as he remembered a trip he and a few others made to the south a few terms back. There he had seen his share of both, and had more than his fill. At least here, near the north they were still welcomed, if not with open arms.

In some places, they were seen as heroes, but the further they strayed from Stronghold, the worse it got. In a world where danger lurked in every shadow, the unfamiliar was abhorred. Rumours grew to outlandish proportions and replaced truth without anyone even noticing.

Unfortunate that most rumours did have a grain of truth at its heart.

He wiped the frown off his face and replaced it with a smile as he saw the girl return with his ale after with he thanked her and gave a generous tip, which actually managed to elicit a genuine smile from her.

Small steps.

A large figure appearing in the doorway drew his attention. He watched as Red looked around before spotting him and started walking over with Kali on his trail. One of the patrons, thoroughly engaged in a tale he was telling, took a step backwards and bumped into the wall of muscle and steel that was Rhone’s companion. Already unsteady on his feet the man tumbled to the floor.

The conversations muted a bit as the man looked up, face twisting into a scowl before he saw who he had bumped into. Red reached down with a single hand and lifted the man by his collar, pulling him upright.

“Balance is key,” the big man said with a serene expression.

“Y-yes,” the man replied, the events transpiring a bit too fast for him to keep up in his inebriated state.

Red and Kali reached his table and sat down as the tavern conversations resumed at their previous pace.

“And here we find you brooding in the corner,” Kali said.

“I wasn’t brooding. Did you get the supplies?”

“Yes, we arranged for the merchant to meet us at the North gate tomorrow morning, that way we can pick up the d’yar Red got before heading over. And you were,” she said with a smile before a look of sympathy replaced it.

“You can’t keep dwelling on the past,” she said in a gentle tone as she reached over and placed a hand on his own. “You should try to get to know Y’rid, he really is a nice guy.”

“I know,” he replied with a forced smile.

That’s the problem.