The Law of Surprise [On Hold]

Mayorsbroke

Mayorsbroke teemed with people when the harvests had been successful. It teemed with people even when the crops shriveled to dust in the heat or washed away with flooding rains. The only difference were the thieves. Feast allowed the sloppier pick pocket better chances while famine required finesse and agility.

As Marsh cleared the old wood and iron gates astride Dandelion with Tess in tow, he was happy it was feast. Clumsy thieves were easy to catch in the act.

Tess waded out into the open courtyard, lured by the vendor carts that lined its walls. Marsh saw her head of red hair — loose and wispy from travel — start to disappear into the crowd. He opened his mouth to yell at her but gave a sharp whistle instead. Dandelion flattened his ears at the noise and half the crowd turned to stare at him, but it got Tess’ attention.

“No.” He shook his head as he raised his voice to be heard. “Come here.”

“What’s wrong?” She backtracked and came to stand next to Dandelion.

“The stable is this way,” he said as he dismounted and pulled the reins over the gelding’s head. “He gets settled first then we take care of business.”

The open-faced building that served as the stable sat towards the far wall of the courtyard. Attached was the blacksmith’s shop but the bellows and forge were separate and further out into the courtyard. It had been redesigned after a particularly disastrous fire years prior that decimated the stables and all of the boarded horses.

Marsh followed the sound of rhythmic pounding of iron on iron at the anvil. Its timing had been perfected over decades of practice. The woman worked both sides of the shaft of glowing metal in her gloved hand.

“Mina.” He called out to her back.

“Be right with you.” She replied without turning around, her hands still working in concert to flatten the metal. When satisfied with its progress, she dropped it in the trough of water near her leg to quench.

“What can I do—” Mina spoke as she turned. A wide smile stretched her lips when she recognized the man before her. “Marsh, how you been?”

“Fine. Can’t complain.” He matched her smile. “How about you?”

“The same.” Setting her hammer and the glove on the anvil, she came towards them. She curiously glanced at Tess but gave her a friendly nod.

“He treating you okay?” Mina softly addressed Dandelion as she rubbed her fingers in a circle on his forehead before smoothing them down his muzzle.

“He’ll be better with a trim and a reset.” Marsh pointed at the shoes on the horse’s front hooves.

She nodded her head in the direction of the stable. “Put him in an open stall.”

The other horses in the barn stuck their heads out over their stall doors at the approaching footsteps. Dandelion huffed a low greeting and he was answered with similar chuffs and nickers.

“I can take your horse, sir,” a boy said as he came out from a stall with a pitchfork in hand.

“Just point me to an open stall, Tom.”

“This one here.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “I just finished cleaning and bedding it.”

“And a fine job you did, too.” Marsh smiled as he inspected the straw lined box. He dug a coin out of a pouch on his belt and pressed it into the boy’s hand. “There’ll be more if you make sure Dandelion is comfortable, but don’t over feed him.”

Tom smiled wide and nodded. “I won’t!”

****

“I’m beginning to think I need to attach a bell to you,” Marsh said as he gripped Tess’ elbow. He pulled her away from the vendor stall. “I turn my head for one minute and you’ve vanished.”