Page 33 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

The man stomped off, leaving Fenric standing in the doorway, wondering why he even bothered to get out of bed.

“Well, that didn’t last as long as I’d hoped,” Hapi muttered.

“Is it my fault that we must leave here? I never intended to make us homeless.” Maxie’s sad, broken voice snapped everyone out of their moping in an instant.

“No! This isn’t your fault⁠—”

“Gideon’s an old grump. He’s an asshole⁠—”

“None of this is your fault⁠—”

Their little band layered on the reassurances while patting Maxie’s curls. Fenric wanted to join in, but they were wasting time. He suspected it wouldn’t take nearly an hour for their former landlord to drag the town watch back to kick them out of the house.

“All right! Everyone, pack up your shit and get ready to move. If you’re still here when the watch arrives, it’s on you to deal with it.”

Especially since it was likely the watch remembered Fenric’s face from his jailbreak only last night. He really didn’t need to capture their notice. “I’ll hit the road first. Let’s go south.”

Malfas perked up, the panic over their sudden eviction seeming to be forgotten already. “You gonna head down to Björnkill? You previously mentioned the town being an interesting spot for us to look for new jobs and money.”

Fenric nodded. It was the closest town down the coast and just far enough away from Pomor that their troubles here wouldn’t have leaked into the ears of those townsfolk yet. “I’ll look around, see if there are any places for rent. I’d rather not spend more nights crammed on Rain’s boat than necessary.”

“Ship,” Rain corrected, emphasizing the P at the end, pausing on his way back up the stairs. “Not a boat. She’s a lovely, precious ship.”

“She’s a rotting bucket held together with prayers and fish guts,” Fenric growled back.

As the rest of the gang filed up the stairs, Maxie lingered behind and gave Fenric’s arm a tiny tap to get his attention.

“What about me?” His wide eyes still looked a touch guilty and there was still some sallowness to his cheeks. He hadn’t forgotten that the results of his experiments were part of the reason they found themselves on the road again. “What should I do? I only have to pack my few clothes.”

Fenric clapped a hand on his slender shoulder and squeezed. “Go help Belstrom. It always takes him forever to pack up all his damn books. After that, you can either walk with me to Björnkill or ride with the others on Rain’s ship as he moves it down the coast.” At the mention of Rain’s ship, he could see the interest wipe away the last of Maxie’s worries. Fenric lowered his voice to a near whisper and bent his head so he was almost speaking directly into his ear. “But I’ll warn you, it’s a four-hour walk to Björnkill. It’ll take only two hours to reach it by ship, but it’s about an hour-long trip from Pomor to get to where it’s docked. Not to mention another hour of Rain getting that bucket ready to sail, so we’d probably all arrive about the same time anyways.”

“It’s a ship!” Rain bellowed from the second floor, proving the bastard had absurdly good hearing when he wanted.

“But even a two-hour ride on a ship seems easier than walking the entire way. Why are you taking the road?” Maxie asked.

He was a sharp one.

Fenric straightened. “Couple reasons. One, I always like to scout the region before I head into a town, get a feel for the terrain and the people before I find myself closed in by walls—and Björnkill is big enough to have walls. Second, there are times when we find trouble, and it’s best if we separate, going in different directions to meet up at a prearranged location. Walking the road means I’ll have valuable information to share with my brothers in mischief.”

“You’re so smart,” Maxie said. “I want to walk with you.”

“Good. Hurry and help Belstrom pack. I’ll shout when I’m ready to go.”

As it was, he’d need less than five minutes to gather his own things. Life as a thief had taught him to not form sentimental attachments. He tried to keep little more than what he could easily pack up at a moment’s notice. Aside from the scant few of his mother’s treasures he’d already reclaimed, the only true keepsake from his life so far was a miniature portrait of his mother from when she first had him.

Less than an hour later, Fenric was on the winding dirt road from Pomor to Björnkill. Where Pomor felt like barely more than a speck, Björnkill was a booming port town with thousands of occupants. Then there were hundreds more coming in and out of the town constantly as they moved goods through the region.

Pomor was a forgettable town—little more than a village—where people looking to cash in on their mediocre bounties weren’t likely to think of searching for a group of villains. While Björnkill was by no means a city, its size and huge crowds promised to provide them with more places to hide. Plus, if they stirred up a bit of trouble, they could possibly move to another district in Björnkill and still keep a low profile. That just wasn’t possible in Pomor.

It wasn’t a bad day to be kicked out of their temporary home. At least the sky had cleared after the previous night’s rainfall. Unfortunately, though, it was also the middle of summer. By the time they hit the road, the sun was already attempting to roast the world.

Fenric had a pack on his back filled with all his worldly possessions. In a pouch on his hip were enough coins to get by for a few days, thanks to a small loan from Hapi, and on his other shoulder was a bag of food. Not to mention, he had a pretty good traveling partner.

Maxie had a spring in his step as he headed down the road, his wide eyes taking in the rolling hills and scattering of farms and occasional fellow travelers. In the week he’d stayed with the group, they’d managed to get the poor kid a couple of changes of clothes. They were made of rougher material than his old ones but far more durable, which was a better fit for his new life. It also didn’t hurt that Maxie wore them with his head held high, as if he were still wearing his fancy aristocratic garb.

“Is this the first time your gang has been kicked out of their house?”

Fenric erupted in loud laughter. His whole body shook, and he almost tripped over his feet as he stumbled to get his balance again. “Gods, no! I’ve lost count of the number of times we’ve been kicked out. Mostly it’s because Malfas has blown things up with his magic. But there were a few times people complained of Hapi bringing his work home with him. Necromancers naturally have a way of making people nervous.”