Fool's Errand by David G. Johnson Read Free Book Online

beautiful but long unused private chambers and bathing room lay off the northeast corner of the throne room, probably a private retreat of the former owner. In the chambers, Thatcher’s keen eye spotted subtle scratches on the floor in one corner. After a brief search, he discovered the Hobgoblins had overlooked a secret room. This had been the personal stash of the former owner. Inside, they found a small chest filled with silver and gold coins. The Durgak’s eyes sparkled.
    “Well, this little party has not been all for naught anyways,” said Duncan. “At least the trip is well paid for. From the looks of the place, the former owners are long gone and not coming back for it, so by rights of salvage, it is ours to split.”
    Gideon disagreed. “We will return with the chest to Aton-Ri. These raiders have robbed, looted, and killed many innocents. This money should be used to relieve the suffering of the victims. You have all been paid your agreed upon wages for this adventure. Be content with that.”
    The Durgak priest looked downtrodden but quickly came to terms with the rightness of Gideon’s sentiment. Durgak were ultimately servants of the One Lord, watched over by Hadaram, their patron Malakim. Though they dearly loved treasures, they also knew what was right. Goldain seemed indifferent to the decision, and other than a grumbling mutter from Melizar, neither the prince nor the mage voiced any objections. Thatcher however was not done with this discussion.
    “The mayor sent a rogue on this mission because a rogue’s skills were needed,” the young thief argued. “That has been demonstrated at least thrice in this little foray, not to mention assisting with the scouting and tracking through the wilderness on the way here. You want a rogue’s skills, you live with a rogue’s rules. By rights recognized by every civilized nation in all of northern Ya-Erets, unclaimed and unreturnable treasure salvaged is by rights the property of the salvagers, save by prior agreement with the hiring patron. One fifth of those coins belong to me, and I choose not to give them to a bunch of people I have never met when I have ample use for them myself!”
    Thatcher’s words resonated with the fairly well-to-do members of the group. Gideon was Parynland nobility and doubtless paid far above the standard fee for this adventure. This was expected for the loyalty of his sword in joining Aton-Ri’s auxiliary defense forces.
    Goldain was some sort of northern barbarian prince, low enough in rank to be out of danger of ruling his people. His father dispatched him to Aton-Ri as a liaison from the Wolf Clan Qarahni. He brought more than enough wealth with him to live comfortably, while Duncan was from a wealthy family of miners in Stonehold and therefore in no want of finances.
    Melizar was a mystery, but the robes he wore and the spell components he carried, both rare and expensive, showed he too was not in want. The saying in Ya-Erets is, “ There are no comfortable wizards. They are all either wealthy enough not to notice the cost of the practice of their craft or destitute from it.” Melizar was clearly part of the former.
    Thatcher, by contrast, was a street-rat from Aton-Ri, scrambling and scraping for every meal. Joining a party of real adventurers with the chance at real treasure was enough to lure this teenage thief from his familiar streets and out into the unknown wilds. The thought of letting his first-found fortune slip away without even voicing an opposition was beyond what he could bear.
    He fully expected violent opposition by his fanatical One Lord following captain. His experience with the religious had been watching most rise to their high positions and piety by standing on the heads of those who did not believe. Well, if these churchers , as his normal running buddies called those who frequented the city temples, thought they were taking or taxing his gold without a fight, they had another think coming. He moved