Page 3 of Bloody Business

The Inn

Artur Bloodhand layin the cart and contemplated where it all went wrong.Each bump in the road sent stabs through his bones and rattled his skull.He'd been restless lately, and it had seemed like a good idea to take a scenic business trip to clear his head.

Ironically, he'd been waylaid by bandits and left for dead.They should have killed him, he thought vengefully, because they wouldn't enjoy it when he caught up with them.

Now here he was, saved by a damsel who was swearing as she stomped beside the cart.His savior was medium height, with curly brown hair and tan skin.She had big brown eyes and a big nose with a stubborn jaw and lots of dark freckles...quite attractive by goblin standards.

Squelched, rather.It was far too muddy for stomping.The swearing was very heartfelt, though.

He would have liked to swear too, but he was busy trying to be a man and keep his howls of pain to himself.His nose was broken, it felt like he had a cracked rib and he wouldn't be surprised if he had internal injuries.His arms and legs seemed intact, which was a minor miracle.He didn't know if he could have dragged himself into the cart if he'd had a broken leg.

He could see a little out of one eye but he closed it against the pain.There was nothing to see but scrubby trees and rocks anyway.

What he could hear and smell was more interesting.There were only two bags in the cart, which she used to prop him up.One was squishy and probably held clothes.The other smelled like iron and food and he assumed it was full of cooking gear, and he was bleeding all over her blankets.

There was a faint jingle underneath him that had nothing to do with the cart wheels.Like all goblins, he was sensitive to metals.He could smell gold.It was faint, probably well wrapped, but he was right on top of it.

So, what was a good Samaritan doing running around with a cart full of gold?He didn't think she'd stolen it, not if she were bleeding heart enough to stop for a stranger who clearly annoyed her.

Was she running from something?That seemed likely.But even if her money was concealed, why risk traveling alone?As he knew full well, the road was teeming with bandits.

A particularly ugly rut jolted him and he grit his teeth.Just a little bit longer.He was a man.He could handle a little pain.

...

“What do you mean there's no doctor?”The town was small and muddy, but big enough for a town doctor.The inn was rundown and grubby, but blissfully warm and dry.

“Sorry, Miss.There's been a major landslide.It buried half the neighboring village.The doctor and all the people we can spare are there helping.It's just me and the stable boy here now.”

Julep rubbed her temple, trying to stave off a headache.Of course the doctors had gone.She didn't blame them, but it put her in a bad spot.

She just wanted to drop this goblin off.Unfortunately, he was unconscious from the pain of the ride.The stable boy and innkeeper had managed to get him into a room, but no one was around to doctor him.“Is there a maid, farm wife...anyone...who would like to make some money to take care of this guy?”

He shook his head.“Everyone is helping with the landslide.In fact, I can rent you a room, but you're going to have to fetch your food and water from the kitchen.I'm helping to gather supplies for the rescuers.”

It hit her like a slap.No one was available.She was stuck.

Of course, she could just walk off and leave him...except, she'd been raised better than that.She swore in helpless frustration.It was going to be a long night.

She hauled a wooden bucket of hot water to the rented room.Mercifully, it was on the ground floor.That was good, because there was no way they could have hauled the goblin upstairs.Since it was next to the main fireplace, it was also toasty warm.

It was also the only room left.

The goblin was still laying on the narrow bed where the stable hands had put him, dirtying the sheets with blood and foul smelling mud.It smelled so bad, she wondered if there was dung mixed in with it.Maybe something had died there and decomposed before he conveniently fell on it.She shuddered.

She felt overwhelmed when she looked at the damage.She could wash him and put medicine on the wounds, but she didn't know how to set bones.What did one do for broken ribs?

She sighed and set the bucket down.She poured some into a wash basin and got to work while he was conveniently unconscious.Soap, water and salt could do a remarkable job setting things to rights, and she had some salve she'd made herself; very good for preventing infection.

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