Tales of the Dragon's Bard, Volume 1: Eventide by Hickman Tracy; Hickman Laura

Author:Hickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2012-04-27T06:00:00+00:00

• Chapter 11 •

The Highwayman

Dirk Gallowglass! A name that struck terror into the hearts of travelers! Whenever he rode on his midnight black horse and brandished his blade, merchants and patrons caught on the road would cower in fear. Grant him whatever he asked of you, it was said, and he would leave you in peace. Cross him, and there was no end but a death as black as the masked hood that he wore.

At least, that was what Henri Smyth hoped everyone believed.

Henri was a son of a farmer in Farfield. His tall, strong body and ruggedly handsome features had somehow not served him well behind a plow. He was a proud and moody youth whose eyes were always looking past the horizons of his father’s fields. Josias Smyth, Henri’s father, tried his best to keep his son’s interest, teaching him what he knew about swordsmanship and the greater world, but the elder Smyth had come to realize that his headstrong son could learn the realities of life only by having them pummeled into him by experience. It was only a matter of time before he left his home against his father’s advice. So Josias gave his son what little money he had, his sword belt, and his rapier from his service in the Epic War—and prayed to whatever gods might be listening to take care of his wayward boy.

Experience wasted no time before starting the pummeling. Henri had started out in the belief that he could somehow make a living off of his charm alone, but for some reason, people did not toss coins at his feet simply because he smiled at them. He took a few working jobs along the way, telling himself they were just temporary until someone recognized the glory that was in him and saw that taking care of him was something he deserved. After several months, he came to the startling realization, while cleaning out a pigsty in Meade, that handsome, comely people can starve to death just as quickly as ugly ones. He finished the job and got on the road back to Farfield.

He was on that road, considering returning to his father’s farm and resigning himself to get back behind that mundane plow, when he came upon the highwayman, peacefully swinging by his neck at the side of the road.

Henri considered this amazing sight for a number of minutes. The legend of Dirk Gallowglass had, in the end, apparently not served him well. Other than his name—which may have been made up entirely, for all anyone knew—and his profession as a highwayman, no one knew anything about him. Where did he come from? Did he have parents? Well, obviously he had parents, Henri thought to himself, but what did they think of their son’s choice of vocation? Did he have a woman somewhere wondering where he was? Did he have several? Would any of them remember him? It occurred to Henri in that moment that being a highwayman was the most

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