The Lingering Darkness Fan-fiction

[Elora]

Barrold

"What makes you so sure I know anythin'?" Barrold eyed Kaldir suspiciously, scanning the shadows around him for any who may be listening for him to trip himself up. Barrold kept a firm grip of his dagger and scowled at Kaldir.

In the moonlight, the former Ranger was a sight to be reckonned with. Kaldir was unsmiling, but then Barrold had not yet seen him smile over the years.

"I've been very community minded," Barrold added for the benefit of his imagined eavesdroppers. Kaldir raised his brow at the squinting man.

"Indeed, with family visiting and all," Kaldir said in a mild voice. Barrold did not miss the emphasis in his statement.

"Perhaps," is all Barrold offered as he stooped to pick up a handfull of stones. Deliberately, Barrold threw the pebbles into the shadows, one by one, listening intently for the sound they made when they landed. Satisfied that Kaldir was not setting him a trap with authorities, his speculative mind kicked into action.

"You know 'ow it is with family. Work never stops," he said with a grin that Barrold supposed was more friendly than it actually appeared to be. He dropped his hand from his dagger in a show of good faith, as good as one could expect from a Ferney, and inspected the Ranger.

"Haven't seen you round these parts for a while. How's the bounty business doin' these days?" Barrold had a few aims in mind as he smiled a gap toothed grin at Kaldir. The first was to determine why the bounty hunter was here. The second was to determine how much was on Naiore's head, if Kaldir happened to mention it. The third, Barrold always a man of ambitions, was how much he could stand to make if he robbed Kaldir and lived to tell the tale.

"You could tell me, Ferney. You've a pretty prize already, I guess." Kaldir made no move to drop his grip on his sword hilt. Barrold's expression closed into a well practised blank one.

"Maybe I 'ave, maybe I 'aven't," Barrold said as he rocked back on his toes. A nasty thought occured to him at that moment. "Blimey! They ain't lookin' for me are they?"

Kaldir chuckled humourouslessly in reply. "Now why would they be after you, Ferney? You've been very community minded of late."

"Yeah, that's right," Barrold confirmed for good measure. Kaldir was not done yet though.

"Curious that... your recent good behaviour. Who would order you to lay low that you would heed... family?"

Barrold was caught between caution and greed. Kaldir was a bounty hunter and Barrold could acquit himself of Naiore without having to do it himself if he handed her across. He could keep the daughter too, without having to do anything. But then, Naiore had proved herself able to survive hopeless odds. If she survived Kaldir, then she'd come back for him.

Barrold cleared his throat nervously and spat to one side.

"Like I said, I got family visiting," he said warily. It wasn't a lie. He did have a family of sorts visiting. Barrold had to wonder what Naiore was worth to the bounty hunter.

"What it to you?"