Small Victories by Elliott Kay

Author:Elliott Kay [Kay, Elliott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-07-06T06:00:00+00:00

Wandering Monsters: Overhead

Light from lanterns on the porch and in the windows didn’t reach all the way across the road. The crew couldn’t have hoped for a stronger array of camouflage than the tree line and slope dropping off right behind it—though they could’ve done without the relentless rain. And the cold wind, chilling them only days after a warm spell. And the mud. Especially the mud.

A sign bearing the seal and name of the Cozy Coyote swung in the wind over the door. The carved and illustrated namesake of the inn smiled out at the darkness, curled in front of a nice fireplace. Grinning. Smugly.

"Do you see either of them yet?" Scars kept his voice low along with his posture, crouching behind a thick tree trunk at the edge of the ridge. His cloak looked lumpy and odd thanks to the crossbow and shield beneath it, but hopefully no strangers would see him out here. If they did, he hoped he wouldn’t have to use either.

"No. You see better in the dark than me, anyway," whispered the young woman at his side. Like Scars, Teryn hid under a wet cloak and hood and kept her weapons slung and sheathed. "You all do."

The half-orc could see his breath escape from between his tusks. "Not with just enough light to spoil it."

"Ah. I didn’t know it worked that way." A shiver overtook her breath, but she tried to hide it. "We’d have heard something if they were discovered."

"I’m not worried, just annoyed," Scars grumbled. "Revenge work is the worst. Retrieval isn’t much better. It’s work on spec. Sure, you can loot the fallen if they’ve got anything worth taking, but most of it is probably stolen anyway. What do you do? Keep the shit they stole from others for yourself?"

"Anna said she only wanted her ring and the necklace if we could get them back," said Teryn. "She told us to keep any coin."

"She let us sleep on her floor and cooked breakfast for all of us. Sent us out with three days of potatoes and fresh vegetables, too. This is a giant pain in the ass with almost nothing to gain for it, but I’m not keeping money someone stole from the one nice farmer we’ve met in weeks." When Teryn didn’t respond to his grumbling, Scars grew suspicious. "You’re grinning under that hood, aren’t you?"

"I’m not," she lied.

"You are."

"It’s the cold and rain. My mouth is shivering."

"How are you holding up?"

"I’m fine." Teryn didn’t complain. None of them did. "I can slip around the curve to check with Yargol and War Cloud."

"Be careful," Scars murmured.

"Always." She turned to move—and promptly slid down the ridge as the mud beneath her gave way. "Shitshitshit!" Teryn hissed, but to her credit, didn’t yelp. A quick turn and roll let her catch one thin tree with her boot, arresting her slide. Mud, water, and several arrows fallen from the quiver on her back all sloshed past her like a small wake.

Wet, filthy, and disheveled already, Teryn let her head fall back against the ground.

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