The Defender: The Curse of Ironwood

One

Allan was surprised to see his wife Nancy behind the counter when he walked into the shop that she and her brother owned. Before he kissed or, or did anything to greet her, he asked, “Where’s Davy?”

“That’s a fine hello,” she replied.

That must mean there’s no trouble, he thought. “Sorry.” He walked around the counter, embraced her, then kissed her.

“That’s more like it.”

“You’re welcome.”

“As to my brother, he’s been working here quite a bit, and on his own. The mid-summer festival is going on this week.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“I thought it would be nice to let him spend the day around town. Let folk see how respectable he’s become.” She grinned. “Give him a chance to find the love of his life, so he isn’t jealous of his sister.”

“That’s actually very sweet of you, Nancy.”

“Thank you.”

“Did you want to go to the festival?”

Her grin faded. “I don’t know. That depends on what you have to say about your journey, and something else.”

“What something else?”

“In a moment. Talk.”

He eased out of their embrace. “I was able to find the old mages castles in West Bend and Whitewood. I found two spellbooks, one in each, and that’s it.”

“Had someone already gone through them?”

“Someone like Red Raymond?” He shook his head. “The castles hadn’t been touched since their occupants left or died. I think Red Raymond picked up magic from outside the region, and came here.”

“Aside from the castles, why do you say that?”

“Well, think about this. If he was a local fellow, why was he hiding in the wilderness?”

“Lords are rarely kind to folk who shelter outlaws. Especially the families of outlaws.”

“I know. But Willie and what was left of the Franklin crew found an abandoned home to hide out in. So did Davy and his friends, here in Stoneford. Red Raymond might have had better luck if he lived in the city.”

“He didn’t have good luck?” She smiled for an instant. “Until he met up with the Moon Spirit and the Defender, I mean.”

“Well, yes, but what I meant was, it’s not like he was the scourge of the road. He was able to spread rumors about himself by making one or two visits to West Bend Town and Whitewood City. He robbed, at most, a dozen folk over a couple of years. He could have stolen more if he’d been in either city. Indeed, he could have lured a fellow into hiring him as his guard, then robbed the man once they were in the country.”

She was quiet for a moment, then she nodded her head. “Don’t let the guards hear you say that, but you’re right.”

“If we want to stay ahead of outlaws, we sometimes need to understand how they think.”

“True enough. Where do you think Red Raymond was from?”

“I have no idea. He could have been from Hill’s Hall, or one of the dukedoms along the Stones River. On the other hand, he could be from farther away. This is a large kingdom, and the tales of the Defender’s adventures have spread all over.” He sighed. “We’ll never know, I suppose.”

“No.”

“Other than that, the trip was uneventful. How have things here been?”

“Uneventful. Davy’s taken to running the store quite well. I sometimes feel like I’m getting in his way.”