Austin's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Austin counted his coins on the porch rail of the roadside inn and came up short. Three copper pieces. Not enough for the salt pork, the bandages, and the oil he needed to keep walking. He had crossed four provinces to reach Greenhollow, chasing the last known trail of the traveler who vanished on him two winters ago. He would not stop here. He could not. But his pack was near empty, and his boots had another month of road in them at best. He pushed through the door of the inn. Warm air hit his face. A fire cracked in the hearth. Travelers ate stew at low tables. The scar down his cheek drew a few looks, then the looks moved on. He was tall enough that people usually decided to mind their own business. He asked the woman behind the counter about work. She wiped a mug and studied him. She said the stableman had quit that morning. Two nights of mucking stalls and hauling water would earn him a room, a meal, and a small purse. He took it. He worked until his shirt stuck to his back. He ate stew standing up. Then he climbed to a narrow room upstairs. A bed sat against the wall between a tall wardrobe and a squat dresser. A window framed the black road he still had to walk. He slept hard. The next morning he counted his new coin against a list of supplies and came up short again. Not by much. But by enough. He stood in the common room and stared at the list. "You're going north." He turned. A woman sat two tables over with a mug in both hands. Brown skin, denim jacket, a heavy pack braced against the bench beside her. She had watched him haul buckets last night without offering to help, which he respected. Her boots were newer than his but already scuffed. "How do you know," he said. "You asked the counter about the north road twice." She tipped her chin at the empty seat across from her. "I'm Amy. I'm going that way too. As far as the pass, maybe farther." He sat. He did not smile, but he did not walk away. "I've got supplies for one," Amy said. "Split between two, we both eat thinner. But I know a trader half a day up the road who owes me. He'll resupply us both if I vouch for you." Austin studied her. He had walked alone for two years. He had lost the one person he wanted at his side. The idea of another traveler beside him felt wrong in his chest. He thought about the three copper pieces. He thought about the trail going cold. "I leave at dawn," he said. "So do I," Amy said. He finished her bread. The list in his pocket stopped mattering. He had a way forward now, and a stranger tied to it. “Before we go, where I’m from we have a certain way of making a pact such as this…” Amy said. “And what exactly does that involve?” Austin said. “First, we go upstairs and talk it over properly,” Amy said with a smile.