Fortunes

‘Fortune telling? That crap is so foolish. It never comes true. It’s just some old woman who can’t turn a trick anymore telling you a good story or what ever you want to hear.’, Tanner complained over his Olde Anglia 800.

‘Not true’, said Faolan. ‘Everything Madam said about Deren Fawley came true.’

‘Hmmph. If you call fooling around with the powers of darkness 'fortune telling', I guess you’re right. For a bunch of people who don’t believe in the gods, you’ve seen enough that you ought to’. Tanner slugged down half a mug of Old Anglia.

‘Aw, you might learn something from Madam. The stuff I’ve been told has been coming true’ argued Faolan.

‘If by true you mean that you’ve been separated from your money and having someone to share your bed with, I guess that has come true’, snorted Tanner.

‘Stop being so logical and matter of fact, Tanner. Not everything can be decided by your skill with a sword or compass’. Annah felt like teasing Tanner; he was a good guy, but he could be uptight over money and things he deemed foolish. ‘What kind of man believes in gods that doesn’t believe in fortune telling? You’re the only person born south of the Brown River that believes in any kind of gods, and yet you think fortune telling is foolish. ‘The high and mighty engineer’ prays to things he can’t even see’.

Tanner shot Annah a cross look. ‘Having the god of war on your side is not a bad thing, especially with what we do. I’ve spent less money on Him than the fool’s company of adventurers I’ve hung around with the last two years has on fortune telling. All Petan wants is for one to fight valiantly, and do it often’.

‘Nothing about fighting for money, I see’, smirked Annah. Tanner would spend money on a good time once in awhile, but he could be cheap. ‘Petan probably wants you to get some better armor’.

‘That armor I wear is just fine as it is’, squawked Tanner. Annah had pushed one of his buttons. ‘And I’ll keep using this sword until I kill someone with a better one. And there’s nothing wrong with fighting for profit. It’s better than farming or tanning leather’.

‘I’ll tell you what’, said Annah. I’ll buy you two shots of miner water if you’ll go see a fortune teller tomorrow. There’s bound to be a one around here. Besides, it’s the least I can do, after you got Kirsten and Jamy for me’.

‘Hmm, two shots of miner water, and all I have to do is pay for a fortune telling. I’ll come out ahead in the coinage. Done!’ said Tanner.

After that, Tanner finished his ale and then started drinking miner water. Faolan started singing some song about a woman in love with mercenary who was too blind to see that she loved him. ‘Just when I started to think Faolan has some good songs, he pulls this crap out. What kind of woman falls in love with a mercenary?’

Faolan followed up with a song about two outlaws running around and causing trouble for the Crown. That was more like it. ‘Killing Red Legs, the only way they know how. That’s just a bit more than Crown Law will allow’. Tanner chuckled. ‘I wonder who was the inspiration for that’, he thought out loud.

A bar wench tried to entice Tanner, but he shooed her off. ‘I just came from the Golden Lion. I am not interested. At that, Tanner gulped the last of his miner water down and went to bed.

The next morning, Tanner and Faolan headed down towards the Golden Lion. They asked the doorman if there was a good fortune teller around. The doorman pointed to the door on the right. Over the door was wood painted to look like the constellations in the night sky. ‘That’s the place to go. Xara’s predictions have a way of coming true’.

Tanner and Faolan entered Xara’s, and Tanner immediately perked up. For one thing, as far as Tanner could tell, the decorating influence was Sea-People. Everything was shades of green and blue, and it seemed authentic. Nothing cheap here.

A fair-skinned woman with hair the color of night came out. She was small, almost like a girl. But something about her suggested age beyond her appearance. ‘Just like Miss Macon’. Her eyes were green; the green color of water that poured through a limestone channel, thought Tanner. You could lose yourself in those eyes and you might drown. There was something deep in there. Not like Bexar’s eyes… ‘No, I am not going to think about her’. No, these were eyes that looked like a deep well of knowledge, but not knowledge as Tanner understood knowledge.

‘You seek knowledge. Some of it you get from books and tomes, but you don’t get all you desire. You want to know the future, so you can plan for it. It might help, it might not. That will fall upon you.’ Xara looked into Tanner’s eyes. There was no malicious intent, not anything evil. But there was some quality there that Tanner couldn’t describe, and for the first time, he felt uneasy. Xara placed her hand on Tanner’s, and gently but firmly led him into the back of the shop.

Xara produced the fortune cards and bade Tanner to draw them. Tanner drew six cards as requested, and Xara laid them out.

‘The first card is drink. You have a fondness for strong drink. In the past it has dominated your life’.

Tanner thought, ‘what man in the frontier doesn’t have a fondness for drink? Sometimes, it’s the only thing that keeps us together’.

‘The second card is what other think of you. They find you unusual. You know how to read, and you put it to use.’

Tanner thought, ‘Mmmm, so people find me odd? What’s new about that? Listen to me talk for five minutes, and it’s obvious. ‘People say I’m no good, and I’m crazy as a loon. Build war machines in the morning, and read books all afternoon’.

‘The third card is magic. You will meet a powerful magician in the future’.

‘And knowing me, it’s probably somebody from The Underworld. And I’ll try to kill them. So far, I’ve heard nothing good’, thought Tanner.

‘The fourth card is your friends. One of them will say something in a toast that could change the future.’

‘Faolan saying something while drunk. What another surprise’, thought Tanner.

‘The fifth card is war. You will become immersed in it’.

‘And I am a mercenary in bad times. This is a shock?! For Rob’s sake, I don’t become immersed in wars; I start ‘em’, grumbled Tanner to himself.

‘The sixth card is leadership. You will lead an army into a great battle.’

‘War, war, war….leadership? Generalship? I am not ready for that. Who’d want me to lead them?’ stammered Tanner out loud.

‘You know that leading men blindly will get them killed, and not win objectives. Not many have grasped this since Lord Thalion commanded’, Xara said plainly.

‘I am no Tobin Thalion! No one is. I’m not fit to shine his boots and fix his armor.’ hollered Tanner.

‘No, you are not his equal. But you have learned well from his experiences, more than most others who would call themselves followers of Thalion. When the time comes, you’ll lead an army against great forces who would do much harm. If’ you’ve learned your lessons, you might be victorious’.

Xara drew close to Tanner. She placed her right hand on his cheek. Tanner felt like he was being addressed by Miss Macon. ‘Open your eyes, boy. And not the ones on your face. Think. This shouldn’t be hard, because you think often. Too much in the eyes of some. You saw hard times in the past. Mother and father killed in the war. The rest of the family gone. And it hurts enough that you bury yourself in things that are logical and require no feeling. But you know this isn’t right, inside of you. Take all that have learned, and let it guide you. Think things through. But there will come a time to trust instinct and feeling. At that time, lay aside your compass and straight edge’.

Tanner’s face turned ashen. ‘Yes, you are right’, he said in a very small voice. He turned around and started to head to the door.

Annah asked, ‘What’s the matter? The tone started off sarcastically, but once she saw the color of Tanner’s face, she changed tone.

Tanner walked out hesitatingly. ‘I’m going for some fresh air’.

‘Wait’, Annah said. “What did the woman tell you?’

‘Leave him be,’ said Faolan as grasped Annah’s arm. She tried to wrench free, but the Red Wolf’s grip was as strong as a wolf’s jaws. ‘Sometimes a man has to think things through for himself.’