Stranger Passing: The Sword and the Flame Novella

Chapter 3

"We're here." Eron's chipper voice broke through Reinhart's thoughts.

As Eron motioned to the village, Reinhart felt his heart sink into his stomach. By the Gods, what have I done to deserve this? The village of Glensford stood before him, filled with Halflings. Most of the ones he could see stood staring back at him, some out of fear.

Eron noticed his new friend stopped walking, so he turned back to see what was the matter. Seeing the expression on Reinhart's face, Eron couldn't help smiling. He didn't remember ever seeing anything so comical. "You look like you've seen a dragon."

Reinhart tore his eyes from the twenty or so Halflings that had paused in the middle of their tasks to watch him. Their numbers kept growing as more came out to see what everyone was staring at. When he looked at Eron, he reached out a hand to brush some of the boy's shoulder-length, light brown hair away from his left ear. A pointed ear. "You're a Halfling."

Eron took the realization as a question. "Yep. This is Glensford."

Reinhart nodded slowly, "Yes, I realize that now." He understood why he never heard of a settlement there. Few people did business with Halflings, so there wouldn't be any reason to concern themselves with the location of their towns or cities. If they chose to live in the middle of a forest away from people, who in their right mind would care?

His comment confused Eron and the boy's face twisted in thought. He recognized the tone as one his mother and father often used when he did something they didn't appreciate. After a moment his face smoothed. "You weren't expecting Halflings, were you?"

There was something about Eron's tone that cut into Reinhart. The ranger looked down at the child and smiled as best he could through his shock. "Honestly? No. But that doesn't mean I'm disappointed." He didn't lie. He wasn't disappointed. He was terrified for the sake of his belongings, especially for the little gold and silver he had left.

Either way, his words returned the smile to Eron's face. "Come on. Mom will be so happy to meet you. It's not every day a human comes to visit."

I wonder why. Reinhart followed his lead, smiling and nodding hello to those he passed once they were in the village proper. Following his previous prayer, the ranger directed more than a few choice words to any listening Gods.

*****

"Eron! What in the name of Arabeil did you do?" Milda was less than pleased when Eron introduced her to Reinhart. With the history of the Halflings being what it was, a human tended to mean someone was going to be arrested or killed. Such a thing wasn't something she ever wished to see again for as long as she lived. Given Eron and Surie were her third set of children, there was comfort in the thought her hope would be answered.

Surie sat off to the side, too terrified to come out from behind the edge of the doorway. She'd never seen a human before, and Reinhart was scary enough that she wondered if he was there to arrest her before her career began or with news about her father. But humans don't care that much about Halflings. While watching him, she whispered, "Leave it to Eron to bring home a stray."

Although Surie mumbled, her mother heard her. As Milda was turning to say something to Surie, the young girl received the shock of a lifetime when the human spoke.

"I've been called many things in my time, but a stray is something new, little miss." Reinhart smiled at her, enjoying himself to some degree. He couldn't count how many times he'd been treated like an outcast, one whom nobody would speak to. This time, he was being acknowledged and openly insulted. Maybe there's more to the Halflings than anyone gave them credit for. Still, he kept his hands on the important items of his person. Even if he wasn't met with the hostility of the sword, he still remained protective of his money and weapons.