“Who are you, and what are you doing on my property?” a strident voice rang out in the clearing. Tariel jerked her head up just in time to see a woman in a brown dress and floral apron striding over to her. Wisps of brown hair poked out from beneath her white muslin cap, and her blue eyes, identical to the child’s, were wide with anger. “Get away from my child!” She addressed Tariel in the Common Tongue, her thick Carlissian accent making the words almost musical despite heranger.
“I-I apologize,” Tariel stammered, backing away. The woman snatched up the toddler and planted him on her ample hip. “I meant no offense. I merely asked him if his parents werehome.”
“If you wanted to speak to his parents, you should have knocked on the front door,” the woman scoffed. “Now what do youwant?”
“What is all this ruckus about?” a man called, coming out of the house. He was dressed in an outfit similar to his son’s, and had a shiny bald head, ruddy cheeks, and a full black beard. His eyes widened as they beheld Tariel. “I wasn’t expectingvisitors.”
“Trespassers, not visitors,” the wife snapped. “You know that we can’thave—”
“We did not mean to trespass,” Yarim said smoothly as he and Calrain came to stand by Tariel’s side. “We are simple travelers, hoping to barter our coin for some food. Our stores are quitedepleted.”
The miller and his wife fell silent as they eyed them. “You say you have coin?” the wife saidbrusquely.
“Yes,” Calrain said, pulling a copper from the purse tied to his belt. “Wedo.”
“Well, I do have some fresh eggs and bread,” the woman relented. “Tie up your horses, and come on in. I don’t want those beasts trampling through my garden or stepping on myson.”
They did as she asked, and followed the family into the mill. The rushing water and the turning wheel echoed inside, but as they climbed to the second floor living quarters, the sound lessenedconsiderably.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Yarim said as they sat down at a modest wooden table on the south side of the house. They were right next to a window, giving them a pleasant view of the dale. Tariel had not forgotten they were in bandit country, and was relieved that they could keep an eye on their horses from where theysat.
“It’s no trouble,” the miller said as he joined them at the table. The little boy played on the floor with his toys while the wife fried eggs and cut thick slices of bread for them. “We are suffering from some lean times right now, so we are grateful for the extra coin.” He laughed nervously, and Tariel wondered at the tension in his face. Why was everyone so afraid ofthem?
“There is no need to discuss our finances with strangers, Horath,” the wife said tartly, and the manwinced.
“We aren’t interested in your money,” Tariel said, laying a hand on the man’s arm. Carefully, she sent a tiny pulse of magic into him, willing him to relax. “We just need a decent meal, so that we might have enough strength to make it to the nexttown.”
The man nodded, though the tension did not leave his big body. “Do you know where you’re headed?” he asked, a bit too casually, as his wife set out plates of food in front ofthem.
Tariel’s stomach rumbled, but she ignored the food and focused her attention solely on him.You can trust us,she said in her mind, willing the emotions to form inside him.We are good at keepingsecrets.
“We were on our way to the Empire, but before we can continue our journey, we must rescue our friend,” Tariel explained. “He has been kidnapped by bandits, and we are trying to find where they have taken him. Do you know where theylive?”
The man opened his mouth to answer, but his wife cut him off. “We know nothing of bandits,” she said tersely as she set a small tub of butter on the table. The ceramic container made a sharp snap against thewood.
“Please,” Tariel begged, placing a hand on the miller’s forearm. “We cannot continue withouthim.”
“I…” The man hesitated, and Tariel pushed her will on him again. She could sense the deep-rooted fear in him, and now that her magic had grabbed hold of it, she was untangling it bit by bit, painstakingly pulling its hooks out of his soul. Sweat beaded on her temple, and for a moment, she thought she might notsucceed.
He let out a deep sigh, and his entire body relaxed. “No one knows precisely where the bandits’ stronghold is,” he said, and his wife’s eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. “It is somewhere in Traize Valley, hidden from mortal eyes by powerfulmagic.”
“Magic?” Yarim exclaimed. “So the banditsdohave awitch!”
The wife’s skin had turned pale as death and she grabbed his arm. “Horath, we have sworn not to speak of this, on pain ofdeath!”
But the miller completely ignored his wife. He was putty in Tariel’s hands now that her magic had taken hold of his heart. Even so, Tariel did not want to anger the wife, not when she had invited them into her home, so she turned her attention to thewoman.
“I do not mean to put your family in danger,” she said quietly, “but I mean to rescue my friend, and it sounds like we will have to take on this group of bandits. From what I can tell, everyone in the region is afraid of them, which leads me to believe that you all might appreciate it if the bandit problem is taken careof.”
The woman scowled. “The three of you cannot hope to get rid of Lord Traize,” she said. “He has been terrorizing—” She clamped her mouth shut, as if realizing what she was about to say. “The three of you need toleave.”
“Horath,” Tariel said, turning back to the man. “How much influence does Lord Traize have over the people in hisprovince?”
“Everyone who lives in these lands is deathly afraid of him,” the miller answered. “He exacts tribute from us every month, and if we do not pay, he razes our lands or kills ourlivestock—”
“Stop!” the wife shrieked, lunging at her husband. The toddler began to cry as she hit and slapped at the miller. “You mustn’t tell them! They’ll kill us, they’ll killus!”
“Sama, please!” the miller protested, trying to fend her off. “These people can be trusted! They’re here tohelp!”
