Bards & Bargains Chapter 2

New Fantasy Serial - Sequel to Tales & Treasure

In case you missed, it here’s a link to chapter one. Bards & Bargains is a new fantasy serial and the sequel to my novel Tales & Treasure.

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A Promise Kept - Mia

Mia climbed between tangled limbs in a fragrant cherry tree, reaching her favorite spot at Hobb’s farm as the sun began its descent below the tree tops. She scratched her forearm on the rough bark as she contorted into a comfortable position, snagging a handful of the bittersweet fruit as she adjusted her seat.

It had been a month since Vidmar left. Mia didn’t know if he was alive, and she still didn’t understand why she couldn’t go with him in the first place. All she knew was she missed him. Yes, the farm was better than the streets of Yimser—there was plenty to eat, but she wanted adventure.

A squirrel looked at her curiously from a neighboring tree. Mia spat the seed playfully in its direction, and it scurried out of sight into some hidden nook, squeaking and chirping. A smile slid onto her lips as she reached for a book on a makeshift shelf between three branches.

Mia brushed debris off the cover of The Lost Forest. She had read the book twice since Vidmar left and Vatis disappeared. One day, I’ll find the forest, she thought. Vatis had told her it was real. Hobb warned her not to trust everything she read. But she and Taldor believed. She wanted it to be real—needed it to be real.

The squirrel chirped again. Mia plucked a cherry off a branch dangling over her head. She nibbled on the fruit as she peered between elliptic jade-colored leaves. There was nothing unusual about the sight. It was the same grove she had been going to every afternoon once she finished her chores, but the squirrel was squealing louder, almost screaming. It jumped to a different tree, nearly losing its balance on a thin branch.

What’s got you so worked up? Mia thought as she returned the book to its shelf.

Then she heard it, a soft rustling in the underbrush. A twig cracked. The squirrel continued its dash to someplace it considered safer. Another subtle, sharp snap of a branch or pinecone breaking. Footsteps.

“Cut it out, Taldor. Aren’t you supposed to be making dinner?” Mia said.

No one answered. The squirrel quit squeaking and vanished; the sound of footsteps faded into wind whistling through the grove.

“Seriously, Taldor,” Mia repeated, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

Something flew past her head. It moved too quickly to be a bug, but it wasn’t big enough to be a bird. A cherry fell into her lap after hitting a branch above her head.

“You missed,” Mia said, still searching the grove for Taldor.

A cherry hit her on her cheek. Mia picked it up and threw it in the direction it came from. She had no real hope of hitting anything, but Taldor was starting to get under her skin. I see why Evanor leaves all the time.

Another cherry flew in front of her face, just missing. She wondered how the boy moved to the other side of the grove without her seeing or hearing him.

“Stop it, Taldor,” she said.

Mia clenched her fists and jumped out of the tree. She looked around, hoping a different angle would reveal the boy, but as she turned, another cherry hit her perfectly in the middle of the forehead. She bit her thumbnail, picked up a few fallen cherries, and threw them at her attacker. Another cherry whizzed over her head from behind her. She turned around quickly and saw Taldor duck behind the trunk of a nearby tree.

How did you get over there? She thought.

“I see you, Taldor. Your boot is sticking out,” Mia said, throwing a cherry and hitting the boy’s foot. Taldor emerged with his hands held high and a childish grin on his face. A cherry hit the back of her head.

“So you’re both here. Very funny, Ev,” Mia said.

She turned around, expecting to see Evanor, a taller version of Taldor, with the same smirk on his face. Instead, she saw a familiar, sly smile that she had dearly missed—Vidmar. He looked ragged. His auburn hair was long and dirty. His leather jacket was missing, but it was him.

Mia sprinted and wrapped the treasure hunter in a tight hug. He returned her embrace, lifting her off the ground. She had dreamed of this reunion every day since Vidmar left. Her body tingled with a mixture of joy, anger, embarrassment, and curiosity. Tears clouded her vision. She never thought she would see him again.

“You came back,” Mia said, swallowing what felt like a lump of tar down her throat. Reluctantly, she let him go and wiped tears from her cheeks.

“I promised, didn’t I?” Vidmar said. His narrow brown eyes glimmered as if he was holding back tears too.

It made hers multiply tenfold. “No one ever comes back for me.”

Vidmar hugged her again. “I don’t like to break promises.”

Mia clenched her jaw and twirled a finger through her hair. Her hands started to shake. She couldn’t speak. Her mind went in so many directions that it was hard to focus. All of her questions came roaring back. Where did you go? Why did you leave? Did you find the crown?

Taldor broke the silence as he approached. “Got you,” he said, laughing.

“So funny, Taldor.”

Vidmar eyed the boy irritably. “This whole surprise was his idea. I went to the farm looking for you, but Taldor found me first.”

Mia laughed. “Of course it was. Shouldn’t you be making supper? Hobb will be back from town soon.”

Taldor looked up through the trees. “Oh, cabbage. Don’t tell any stories without me.” He sprinted toward the farmhouse without looking back.

Vidmar chuckled as the boy weaved through the grove. “He’s strange, but he has some potential.”

“Potential for what?” Mia asked.

“I don’t know. That’s just what my Pa used to say to me.”

Mia looked Vidmar up and down. He was even more ragged up close. His arms were covered in scrapes and bruises; his pants were torn at the knee, and he was missing his pack.

What happened? Mia thought but didn’t dare to ask yet.

Vidmar produced a knife out of nowhere and handed it to her. “Have you been practicing?”

Mia smirked. “Yes.”

She had been practicing every day. Throwing knives was about the only entertaining thing to do on the farm other than reading, and she had read every book Hobb had. Mia took the knife and threw it at a tree about ten paces away. It stuck perfectly in the narrow trunk.

Vidmar shrugged. “Not bad.”

Then Mia took out her knife and threw it an inch to the right of the first blade.

Vidmar gently tapped her shoulder. “Pretty good,” he said, pulling a blade from a hidden sheath. He spun and threw. The blade stuck in the impossibly narrow gap between Mia’s knives.

“Showoff,” Mia said, marching toward the tree.

Vidmar walked with her step for step. Mia pulled her knife from the tree and knocked Vidmar’s blades to the dirt before he could grab them. He licked his lips, shook his head, but refrained from saying anything further.

Vidmar picked up his blades, tucking them into their respective sheaths. The expectant silence of unanswered questions hung in the air.

After a lengthy pause, Vidmar broke. “How have you been? Has Hobb treated you well?”

Mia looked away. “I’m fine. Hobb is nice. It’s just boring.”

“There are worse things than boring,” Vidmar said. They walked through the grove. Mia kicked rotten cherries as they struggled to dive into deeper topics.

Finally, Vidmar spoke again. “I’m sorry you couldn’t come with me, Mia,” he said, fidgeting with the hilt of a dagger.

“It’s alright. I understand.” Truthfully, she didn’t understand. They had been in fights, escaped The Church of Eternal Darkness, and traversed through forests, mountains, and rivers. She had proven her value. An odd feeling scratched at the back of her neck like she had forgotten something, and then she remembered. “Where’s Kamet?”

Vidmar rubbed his eyebrows and sighed deeply. “He didn’t make it.”

Death had played a significant role in Mia’s life, especially for an eleven-year-old. After her mother passed away, there were very few deaths that surprised her, but she didn’t think Kamet could die. He was huge, a good fighter, and he had Vidmar to back him up. Something awful must have happened. Mia saw the pain in Vidmar’s eyes.

“What happened?” she asked.

Vidmar shook his head. “I don’t know if you would believe me if I told you.” He looked away. “But, I wouldn’t be here without him. He saved my life.”

Vidmar looked heartbroken. It had to be true. Mia watched him rub his temples like he had a splitting headache.

“Remember when he almost threw Vatis in the river?” Mia said, trying to distract Vidmar with a more pleasant memory.

Vidmar’s expression softened. “I do. That bard really knew how to push his buttons.”

They walked in silence for a minute. Leaves crunched underneath Mia’s boots as she walked. She was still getting used to shoes. She never had them in Yimser, but Hobb insisted that she wore them around the farm. Mia broached her next question carefully.

“Any word of Vatis while you were on the road?”

“No.”

“I wonder what happened to him.”

“Me too.” Vidmar did not elaborate and Mia didn’t press him further.

They reached the end of the grove. Igni, the black sheepdog, sat on the porch of a two-story farmhouse. Shining rays of a purple-orange sunset poked over the tower on the western edge of Hobb’s property. The dog barked once when it saw Vidmar, then ran up, tail wagging, recognizing Mia.

Mia knelt. “Hey, bud,” she said, scratching the old dog behind its ears. Vidmar tentatively offered it the back of his hand. Igni sniffed once, bumped it with his nose, and returned his attention to Mia.

“Good boy, where’s Taldor?”

Igni barked once at the boy’s name and, satisfied with its defense, returned to the porch, circled several times, and curled into a ball.

“What took you guys so long?” Taldor said, poking his head out of the kitchen window.

“Had a lot to catch up on,” Vidmar said.

“You said you weren’t going to tell stories,” Taldor said, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“I didn’t tell any stories,” Vidmar said.

“Good, you promised,” Taldor smirked as his head disappeared into the house.

“He doesn’t like to break promises,” Mia said coyly.

Vidmar laughed, playfully pushing Mia. A month had felt like forever, but she was glad that they were able to pick up close to where they left off. They sat together on the porch as Taldor finished dinner. The smell of roast beef drifted out of the kitchen window.

Mia opened her mouth to ask Vidmar a question, but nothing came out. She couldn’t focus on the myriad of thoughts swirling in her head.

Vidmar sighed. “I wish every night could end like this.”

“Isn’t this boring?” Mia asked.

“I’ll take boring over chaotic. I’ve had my fill of adventure.”

All I want is adventure, Mia thought. “Yeah,” she said, watching Igni’s tongue fall out of his mouth.

Vidmar looked down at Mia. “Sometimes I forget you’re only eleven.”

Mia looked away, unable to make eye contact. She dreamed of traveling the world with Vidmar, going off on adventures, and helping people, but it didn’t seem like Vidmar had the same dream.

Igni barked as a tall, shadow-covered man approached the farm. Mia snapped out of her adventurous reverie. The dog quickly settled back into its nap as it realized who it was.

Hobb limped home on his cane, taking slow, deliberate steps like every move that he made mattered. There was something about Taldor’s grandfather that Mia had always found strange. She liked him; he was strict but always kind. He never lied, but she had a feeling that he rarely told the whole truth. He said he was a simple farmer with a passion for history, but why would a farmer have a defense tower? Why would he have a library’s worth of books? Why would he have dozens, if not hundreds, of maps tucked neatly into a locked trunk?

Mia tried watching him sometimes, but she either got a guilty feeling in her stomach, or he would notice her and ask for help with whatever chore he was doing.

Hobb’s cane tapped gently on the creaky steps up the porch. Igni greeted him, tail wagging.

“Didn’t think we’d see you again,” he said without glancing toward Vidmar. He opened the door, sidestepped, and pointed inside with his cane.

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Share & Stay in Touch

Well, it’s finally here—the sequel to Tales & Treasure, Bards & Bargains. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. It was a long process, but I’m proud of how it turned out. In June, I’ll be releasing one chapter a week, consider it a soft release or teaser, if you will, and then I’ll ramp up the cadence in July.

If you’re new here, consider subscribing. I have more fantasy stories to read, including Tales & Treasure completely FREE for subscribers. Here’s a link to book one in case you missed it.

As always, thank you for reading and may your feet find the road.