Elements of Deceit

Red Dawn

Late Ausuansius, 793 EY 

Townstead, name unknown, population: 354. 

***

Viola

The world had finally stilled.

The thin floor and walls of the small Inn room did little to protect from the sounds of the tavern on the floor below, or whatever was going on in the rooms adjacent. Not that it was a particularly nefarious type of establishment, no one paid for favours or companions here. But there was alcohol and games of chance, dancing, and enough strangers at the edge of civilization that a person could get lost in the crowd.

And find someone to entertain them willingly.

The thin curtains showed that the world outside was still dark, though the still and quietness of the world was sign that those who were active during the night had gone to sleep and those who needed to be up with the sun were not yet awake.

Viola had a man in her bed. Or, more specifically, she was in the man's bed and he was stretched out on his stomach, dead asleep. She paused for a moment, watching the toned and muscled back, with skin as black as night, rise and fall with the steady rhythm of his breathing. The skin marred with scars, and aside from his formal behaviour while awake, those scars were her biggest hint that he was a fighter of some sort. Officially employed or a mercenary, she didn't know, though he made efforts to appear to be an adventurer.

And this wasn't the first time that she had wound up in his bed. He passed through the town several times in the last few months, spending a couple days resting his horses before continuing on. Viola didn't seek him out, she did not want to have a familiarity with anyone, be they a mercenary or prestigious guard of the ruling class. But somehow she always ended up searching for a night of fun at the same time he was going through town. He would find her in a crowd and with one of his crooked smiles and the polite offer to join him for a game of cards, or a dance, or even a drink, she couldn't say no.

They didn't know one another's names. No one in the town cared enough to know anyone else. The handful of people who knew Viola did not frequent the town during the nighttime hours, and she never used it when she was out having fun.

He had asked a couple times, and always seemed disappointed when she refused, though he never let it ruin their night. Just like he never brought up the fact that she was always gone by the time he awoke. It was as if he knew that if he pushed, it would be over. Without her having to spell it out, he respected her rules and played along in the game.

With a soft smile she stood and dressed, pulling on her pants and shirt, before picking up her boots, duster and gun belt and slipping out the door. Viola didn't pause until she had gone down the back stairs and made it outside. There on the back porch of the inn, she put on the rest of her clothing, straightened it and walked across town to where she kept her horse overnight.

As requested, the stable girl had the mount ready as she was approaching and handed Viola her hat.

"Ma'am, I cleaned and reloaded the rifle like you asked." The girl offered, though she didn't bat an eyelash when Viola checked the weapon herself.

"Thanks Suzy." Viola offered the girl a gold coin and returned her long gun to the saddle holster. "Any news?"

The girl slept in a tiny apartment in the town's stables and often heard a great deal go on from people coming and going, and those having literal romps in the hay.

Suzy nodded. "I saw Mick and the boys screaming back a couple hours ago... dressed like raiders... And there's rumours that the Royal Guard are here, preparing for a journey into the Outlands."

Viola forced herself to nod dispassionately, checking her girth and glancing to the girl. As helpful as Suzy was, the young girl was just as capable of telling people anything she learned from Viola.

"What direction were Mick and the boys going?" Viola asked finally as she swung up effortlessly into the saddle.

"They were coming from the North, but they just headed to the Crooked Sailor. Think they're all there now. They were all revved up." Suzy sighed softly, offering a shrug.

Viola nodded and tossed the girl another gold coin. "You stay out of trouble, ok? And you better still carry that knife on you."

"Yes, ma'am." Suzy pulled out the wicked hunting knife out of her boot.

Viola had given it to her months ago, after someone had tried to take something Suzy didn't want to give. It was a rare weapon that Viola didn't want to have anymore, though no one in this town would recognize it. She had told the girl to use it if she needed to, but not to flash it around.

And forget who gave it to her.

Viola knew that that last request was only as good as whoever would pay Suzy for information, she didn't fault the girl for it. On the edge of the world, you did what you could to survive.

She nodded and turned her horse West, riding easily out of town until she was in the foothills that hid her from prying eyes. Then she found the hidden back trail and kicked her horse into a ground eating canter, heading North and hoping that her suspicions were incorrect. Her mount knew the trail, and they took corners and slid over shale at a breakneck speed, crossing a few streams and turning into the rolling foothills that made up the majority of the cattle farms in the area.

The sun had just risen, an angry red ball in the sky when she crested the last hill and her employer's ranch spread out in the valley below her. The smell of smoke hit her as she squinted into the bright light to see the farmstead burning. The cattle were gone, either scattered or stolen, and the modest sized garden that supplied the family most of their food through the year was burning as well.

With a curse, Viola paused, pulling out her binoculars to scan the area. Other than crows hovering around what appeared to be animal carcases, there was no moment. Even so, after stowing the binos, she pulled out her rifle, rechecked to make sure it was loaded, and urged her horse down the last hill slowly.