Page 2 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

“Zorina, get that blasted thing out of here! And get my coins back!”

She wanted to say that his products and his money wouldn’t be in danger if he kept them in separate places, but it seemed as unwise to point that out as it did to stick money in clay pots put up for sale. Instead, she bit her tongue as she continued trying to chase the furry menace away.

Zorina flung the front door wide open, hoping the red panda would make its escape before it damaged the shop even more. She had no desire to hurt it, nor did she want it to scratch her if she got too close. Those claws looked sharp!

“No, don’t let it run off with my coins!” Jurian shouted. “Don’t let the thief get away!”

Though she disagreed, she tried to close the door again, but the red panda darted under her skirts and rushed out the door before she could stop it.

“Thief! Chase after it!”

Zorina whirled to look at Jurian as if he were mad; he most certainly was at least a little crazy if he expected her to chase after a wild animal down the streets of Adael.

“Go! Catch the thief!”

Huffing out a sigh, Zorina turned toward the exit to follow his inane instructions—and slammed into someone significantly larger than she.

Herrick

Despite the atrocities he’d committed in the past—and there were more than he’d care to admit—Herrick tried to atone for them now. His past as ‘huntsman’ to the previous queen of Fallon haunted him—especially when he recalled what he’d almost done to her stepdaughter.

Instead of killing her as the queen had demanded, he’d returned with a boar’s heart before fleeing himself.

What other choice had he had? When his conscience rebelled against the order, his own life became forfeit. He’d have been a dead man the moment the truth was uncovered, and he rather preferred being alive.

So he did what any sensible man would have: he fled from the crazed queen.

At least he still had the magical pouch she’d given him that allowed him to carry anything and everything he desired without becoming encumbered. Herrick kept that particular item a secret from his fellow city guards in his new home and place of employment. Earning a position as an Adael city guard with no references had been challenging, but his fighting and defensive skills spoke for themselves.

Thankfully, Adael was as far removed from Fallon as possible within the Realms, so no one here knew of his sordid past—and he had every intention of keeping it that way.

Thoughts of his past continued to plague Herrick as he walked down the city street on his patrol. Yes, he had spared the true queen of Fallon, but he had also abandoned an old woman in the desert. True, it was at the former queen’s request, and rumor had it that she had somehow lived, but the fact that he’d left her to such a grim fate still gnawed at him. While he had gainful employment now, had he done enough as a city guard to redeem himself from his mistakes?

Would it ever be possible to do enough to make up for all the wrong he had done?

A shout of, “Thief!” pulled him out of his pondering, followed almost immediately by, “Chase after it!” Hand on the pommel of his sword, Herrick glanced around the street, trying to determine where the scene of the crime was.

But the only thing that looked out of place was a red panda running down the street—and even that was hardly unusual, as the animals had become more and more common in Adael over the last few months.

Another shout of, “Go! Catch the thief!” rang out, and Herrick followed the sound to the eccentric potter’s shop. Though he had yet to meet the strange artisan, he’d heard his fellow guards describe Jurian Atkins as odd and potentially a bit unhinged.

Herrick stepped through the open door—and rammed straight into a fleeing figure. Before even glancing down, he quickly grabbed the thief’s arms and swung the criminal around while lashing their wrists together. “You are under arrest!”

“Unhand me, you brute!” an angry feminine voice cried out.

He blinked, finally looking down at his prisoner. A petite blonde woman in a black and white peasant dress struggled against the bonds. Gripping her arm, he turned her to face him. “No. You are hereby accused of thievery against one Jurian Atkins—”

“I am no thief,” she spat, her blue eyes flashing.

Until that moment, the potter had stood watching the scene unfold with wide eyes. “She’s not the thief—that red panda is!”

Herrick whipped his gaze back to the shopkeeper. “What? A red panda? Do you expect me to arrest it?”

“No,” Jurian said with a huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I expect you to chase after it and retrieve my stolen gold coins.”

“A…red panda stole your gold coins?”

The potter gave a succinct nod. “Indeed.”