Chapter 50: Into the Gulley

“It really was your fault, you know,” said Alcar, as he dismounted and began to unstrap the wooden box from Jimbo’s flank.

Brutus immediately began sniffing at the box with great curiosity, and Alcar noticed that even to him – minus the acute senses of a dog – the food supplies they had brought from Kora’s farm were starting to smell ripe.

“What’s that, man?” replied Etienne vaguely, while Olynka lifted the chest and looped its rope across her shoulders. Without looking around, the halfling slapped both of the ponies across the rump, causing both of them to break into a canter down the road, making their way eastward without riders, and leaving the three companions plus Brutus behind on the road.

“I mean,” said Alcar, “that it was your fault that the knight chased you, and that we had to flee. Back there, you shouted out ‘it’s not my fault’. But it was. You stole his horse.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Etienne with a shrug, and he pointed towards the gulley and began to walk that way. “Don’t be such a stick in the mud, sorcerer. Stealing from Imperials is all part of the good fight.”

“That’s true,” said Olynka. “But best if we actually have a plan first. One that we are all included in. I mean, you could have warned us that you were going to steal the horse.”

Etienne chuckled darkly. “Thing is, that wasn’t my plan. I was after this.” He reached into his cloak and pulled out a long golden chain. It appeared to be made of solid gold.

“What is it?” asked Alcar pulling closer to the rogue.

“I saw the knight put it into his saddle bags when I was stabling Shiela yesterday,” the halfling replied. “I don’t suppose he thought anyone would dare steal from him. Besides, there were guards at the stables. But I can always find a way.”

“It’s pretty valuable, then?” asked Olynka, putting one hand on the halfling’s shoulder and peering at the item.

“Sure. I would say I could get fifty gold for it, at least,” he replied, as he stuffed it back inside his clothing. “Plus I got twelve for the warhorse, cash in hand.”

“Twelve gold crowns?” asked Alcar incredulously.

He had never seen such wealth in his life. Of course, this had been the goal of leading an adventuring group. It was just that robbing Imperial knights and selling their horses was not really what he had had in mind.

But Etienne just nodded. “Sure. I mean, the creature was worth at least double that. An incredible specimen. But the merchants knew that I was in no position to haggle.”

They were now crunching over small stones and gravel as they made their way down into the entrance of the gulley. It was much steeper than it had looked from the road. There were large boulders on all sides, each one sandstone like the cliffs, and Alcar leaned heavily on his staff with one hand while leaning on these where necessary.

”But hey,” Etienne continued “we’re a team. I’ll split the gold with you, just like the goblin loot.”

“Thanks,” said Alcar, smiling at first, and then grunting as he jumped down onto another rock. Then he thought of something. “Hey, what about Leppie? If she rejoins us, I guess she’ll need a share of the loot.”

“Well, if she chose to leave the party...” began Etienne.

“Seems fair to me,” said Olynka, interrupting. “I mean, we need a rule. But it’s not like she actually left. She went on a rescue mission for one of our own.”

“More like a booty call,” murmured Etienne.

Alcar paused and looked from one to the other, as Brutus bounded down the slope past him, navigating down the rocks with ease. “Well, as Olynka says, we need a rule. I’m in favor of sharing – if she does actually come back to us.”

“Very well,” said Etienne, moving on downwards with notable poise and stealth. “If the healer comes back and continues with the quest, then we tell her about the loot. If not, then, hey – what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

***

A few minutes on, the companions had reached the floor of the narrow rift. It was very uneven – passable, but strewn with further boulders. A small stream wound along, and it grew larger as they progressed.

However, when Olynka pointed out that she hadn’t yet had a chance to eat any breakfast, they paused by a small pool, and opened the chest of food.

“I’m finally getting an appetite, too,” said Etienne, leaning over the little chest. “But this meat looks...”

“Off?” suggested Olynka, pulling out a piece of wrapped cheese, and a hunk of rye bread. “Let’s eat what’s worth keeping, and ditch the rest.”

“Yeah,” said Alcar, sniffing. “It could attract bears.”

“Or worse,” added Etienne, already with his mouth full.

“These jars will be worth keeping at least,” said Alcar, picking up a container of what looked like pickled cucumbers, but were deep red in color. “Kora really was looking out for us.” He peered closely at the jar’s contents for a moment, holding it up in front of his face, and then tucked it inside his robes.

Olynka nodded firmly. “She was.”

“Yeah, she’s a good enough kid,” said Etienne. “Wants to fight the Empire – that’s always a good sign.”

“Mmm.” Alcar helped himself to a piece of cheese, and then passed a chunk of it to Brutus.

The three adventurers had been eating for around five minutes when Alcar became aware of a whooshing noise behind him, followed immediately by an arrow thunking noisily into the top of the wooden chest. His eyes widened as he looked around; Brutus came to his side and snarled, looking around.

“Damn it,” said Olynka, raising her own bow and drawing an arrow. “They’ve found us!”