Chapter 28: Stranger danger

“I’m going into town today. We need to pay the rent, and we have some of your teas and some of my amulets we can sell,” Koth told Irin one morning.

“I think I’ll join you. I've been meaning to stop by Dara's to see how she's doing and talk to her,” Irin told him. She knew he would be okay with her staying with the old woman while he took care of the other business. Since the incident with Arind, Koth had been reluctant to let Irin join his trips into town. She understood why, but she was a big girl and could take care of herself, most of the time. Irin had let Koth go into town on his own, but spring was getting close, the snow was almost gone, and they would soon be leaving. She wanted to say goodbye to Dara, even if she couldn’t say a real goodbye. She also wanted to let the old woman know how much they had enjoyed staying in the house; it felt important. Koth hadn’t objected to her suggestion, which made her feel better. Together they rode into town. Just where their road joined the main road, Koth stopped and looked at the larger road. Irin looked as well. The roads were muddy, but she could easily see that a cart and horse had come by recently.

“Merchants?” she asked Koth.

“Maybe. Or a farmer living further out coming into town to sell their produce,” he said. It was clear he didn’t think the second option was plausible.

“The mayor told us the merchants had started arriving again,” she reminded him. He nodded.

“They haven’t been here while we were in town,” he said. It was Irin’s turn to nod. As there wasn’t much they could do besides being extra careful, they continued towards the town, and Koth followed her to where Dara lived with her son and daughter-in-law.

“Have you got the money?” he asked.

“I do, and I’ll stay put until you get here,” she promised.

“Keep your eyes and ears open, I won’t be long.” Irin watched as he turned Maximus around and headed towards the centre of the town. She then dismounted and knocked on the door to the house. Mipole opened the door and looked surprised to see her.

“Hi. I hope I’m not disturbing you. I’ve come to pay next month’s rent and maybe talk a little to your mother,” Irin said.

“Not at all, come inside. Mother will be pleased to see you,” he told her and let her into the house. Dara was sitting by the kitchen fire.

“Hello again,” Irin said.

“Irin, hello. What a pleasant surprise,” Dara told her. “Are you here alone?” she then asked and looked behind Irin.

“Koth is doing some business in town. I thought I would stop by with the rent and maybe get a cup of tea,” Irin answered.

“That sounds nice. Sit down next to me by the fire and Mipole will make us some tea.” Irin did as she was told and handed Dara the money for the next month’s rent. Then they talked. Irin told Dara how much both she and Koth enjoyed the house, and she answered Dara’s question about the state of the place.

“It makes me happy to know such a lovely couple is living in my house. Your husband is always so polite when he drops the rent off. When he heard Arilana was expecting, he gave her an amulet to protect her and the baby. Very sweet,” Dara said. Irin smiled.

“He is. He’s a good man with a good heart. Mind you, he can be grumpy and pig-headed as well, but that's just on the surface,” Irin agreed. Dara laughed.

“My Noah was grumpy as well. When he arrived here, some townsfolk didn’t like him staying. They said he would bring the mood of the town down,” Dara told Irin and chuckled. “Good men use grumpiness as a shield. They’ve been wounded before, and it becomes their way to keep people at arm’s length. Women like you and I, we know better. We aren’t fooled by it.” Irin agreed. She didn’t like deceiving Dara, telling her Koth and Irin were a married couple. It felt like a bigger lie than it should be, maybe because part of Irin wouldn’t mind if it were true.

“We heard from the mayor that merchants have started coming again,” Irin said, hoping to change the topic.

“Yes, we had one stop by last week, and two more arrived today. Mipole headed over there when we heard the news. I suspect he wanted to buy something nice for Arilana,” Dara said with a proud smile. She had raised her son right, Irin thought. “But he said he didn’t like the look of them, so he came back home again. Isn’t that so, Mipole?” Dara asked her son, who was placing down cups of tea for them.

“That’s right, Mum,” he agreed.

“Was there anything in particular that made you think that?” Irin asked.

“No. I just didn’t like the look of them. Shifty looking, and they didn’t seem too interested in selling their items. It felt like they wanted to ask questions,” he said. Irin felt a cold shiver run down her spine. This was bad news. She didn’t know how to get hold of Koth to let him know. If she ran out of the house, that would look suspicious. She sipped her tea and listened as the mother and son discussed strange merchants they had seen in the village through the years. Irin had made up her mind to feign being dizzy to have Mipole fetch Koth for her. Before she had a chance to act on her plan, there was a firm knock on the front door. Irin prayed to Alesseja it would be Koth. When Mipole came back into the kitchen, followed by Koth, Irin had the urge to run up and hug him. She didn’t, as she knew he would hate it. Instead, she gave him a big smile.

“You’re back early, I’ve barely started on my tea,” she said.

“Business didn’t take that long. Both the teas and the amulets have a good reputation by now. They’re easy to sell,” he told her. He was acting relaxed, but she could see he was anything but relaxed.

“Thank you so much for letting me warm up by your fire and for the tea,” Irin said to Dara.

“Not at all, dear. You’re always welcome, both of you,” the old woman told them.

“Thank you,” Koth said, holding out his hand to Irin. Irin stood up and took it.

“Don’t be strangers, and take care of each other,” Dara told them as they were leaving.

“We will,” Irin promised, and they said goodbye to Mipole. Koth helped Irin up on Glima and then mounted Maximus. As they rode out of the town, Irin and Koth made small talk. She asked how the sales of the items had gone. He asked how her visit with Dara had been. They let the horses walk on at a slow pace. When they were sure they were out of sight and earshot from the gate and no one was following them, Irin leaned in closer to Koth.

“Mipole said there was something off with the merchants. They seemed more interested in asking questions than selling,” she whispered. Koth had become serious and nodded.

“I think they’re my father’s men. I recognised one of them since we stayed with my brother,” he told her. They looked at each other and then set off at a gallop.