Benjamin Ashwood Read Online Free PDF Page A

residents of
this town if it was foolish they would disagree.  In fact, Ben, do you believe
it was foolish for us to come here and deal with this demon?  Will the people
be grateful for what we did?”
    “Yes,
I think the people will be grateful,” Ben stammered while trying to ignore the
pointed look from the woman.  He was confused by what they were saying and
didn’t like being called out.  The woman had volunteered to come to Farview and
take the contract, hadn’t she?
    “Stupid
girl, these people don’t know who you are or who they feel grateful to.”  The
woman glared at Amelie as she continued, “and so what if we did save a few
people here.  You jeopardized our timeline by insisting we take this detour.  You
must learn to overlook immediate and unimportant concerns to focus on the long
term goals.  If we stop to fix every problem in the world we will never get to
the city before summer.”
    “We
have plenty of time to make the city,” retorted Amelie.  “I know we cannot fix
every problem in the world, but we did fix this one.  Even if they do not know
it, these are still my people.”
    “They
haven’t been your people for a long, long time.”
    The
argument was broken up by Blevin who came sloshing up with two fresh pitchers
and several mugs which he deposited on the table.  “Anything else I can help
you with madams and sirs?  We have a roast lamb turning on the spit and my wife
is making a stew.  I apologize that I cannot offer you any wine – we drank the
last bottle a moon ago – but I do have some apple brandy.”
    Rhys
looked up at the mention of apple brandy but the woman shot him a glare.  “The
lamb please Master Blevin.  And that will be all.”
    Ben
wondered if he should somehow extricate himself from the table but Rhys filled
up a mug and pushed it in front of him.  “Drinks on me, remember?”
    The
Blademaster then reached over and offered his hand to Ben.  In an accent that Ben
could not place he said, “Saala Ishaam, at your pleasure.”
     
    Ben
quietly sipped his ale while the conversation continued around him.  Amelie and
Saala were discussing their travel plans with occasional input from the woman
and Meredith.  Rhys had the bulk of his attention on emptying as many pitchers
as Blevin would bring him.  He was primarily focused on refilling his own mug
but regularly topped off Ben’s as well.  Before long, Ben was having trouble
following the conversation.  He had a warm feeling from too much ale and had
never heard of many of the places they were discussing.
    Rhys
also kept him distracted by asking questions about the ale, Ben’s skill with
the quarterstaff and Ben’s encounter with the demon.  He felt embarrassed
speaking about how he struck the demon in front of people with such obvious
martial skill.
    Strangely,
the girls and Rhys didn’t ask Saala Ishaam or the woman about the demon.  They
knew they had left and they knew that the demon had been killed, but they
didn’t seem to care about the details.  Who were these people where a battle
with a demon was not conversation worthy?
    As
the night wore on and the pitchers kept flowing, Ben soaked in the strangeness
of the situation.  No one else in Farview could say they spent a night drinking
with two Ladies and a real Blademaster.
    Ben
tried to keep up with the discussion and memorize every detail.  He doubted he
would ever have a chance to meet people like this again.  But a thought kept
nagging at the back of his head.  Why had the woman gone with Saala?  She
seemed to be the leader of this group, which did not match with his picture of
her as a healer or a scholar.  And why had Rhys not gone?  Based on his attire,
he was a man of action and violence.  In fact, he was exactly what Ben would
imagine a lone Hunter or adventurer to be.
    The
woman could also be a high born lady he thought, though her stern demeanor and
the way Amelie acted towards her did not fit.  Possibly she was a