The woman’s scream echoed through the Fisherman’s Inn in Lorgo.  Lorgo was once part of Sordoa before the Collapse of the Universes a generation ago.  Now, Lorgo is in one of the many unclaimed areas of the continent, which hasn’t received the attention of any of the marauding armies yet.  Esta Tern, the innkeeper, told the young boy selling rabbits to wait and hurried his bulky frame up the stairs and along the corridor to the room at the end of the hall.  Esta knew which room the scream must have come from because he had only one female customer this morning and he didn’t stand for unregistered guests in his rooms.  Esta banged loudly on the door.  “Innkeeper!  What’s the problem in there?  Open the door.”

    The door opened and the female traveler, dressed in a fine white robe, pointed towards the window.

    “Somebody was trying to come in through the window,” she shrieked.  “What kind of an inn are you running when decent people don’t even have privacy in their room?”

    Esta trudged over and leaned out the window, looking in both directions.  Only a skinny strip of wood ran along this side of the building and a bandit would have to be crazy to attempt moving along it, the fall could kill him.  Down below in the street nobody was moving.  The only movement visible was down in the harbor area where the last of the fishermen were putting out to sea.  Esta watched the small, drab boats heading seaward under the dim light of morning before closing the shutters and turning to the woman.

    “I don’t see anything out there,” he stated.  “Don’t think anyone could walk on the little strip of wood out there and there aren’t any ladders in sight.”

    “Are you calling me a liar?” she demanded.  “I tell you, someone was out there and I shouldn’t have to pay for a room that’s not private.”

    Esta made a motion to smooth hair on the top of his head, hair that had disappeared years ago.  He had long demanded that rooms be paid for in advance and occasionally ran into customers who would find fault with rooms just to get their money back.  Placing his fists on his hips, he scowled at the woman.

    “Look,” he stated, “this is a private room, just what you paid for.  Your door locks and the windows have shutters.  You want to go parading yourself around in front of an open window, that’s your business, but if your screaming wakes any of my late sleepers, I’ll have to kick you out.”

    Esta stormed off, leaving the woman complaining as he left.   Everyone looked towards Esta as he reached the ground floor and the innkeeper just waved them off to indicate that there was nothing to worry about.  Back in the kitchen, he returned his attention to young boy who was selling rabbits to the inn.

    “Sorry, Arik,” he sighed.  “That’s one crazy woman.  First she travels around without a decent bodyguard, or as part of a caravan, and now she tries to sleep for free.  She wouldn’t even get to keep her coins if I did refund her room price.  The bandits would get her for sure.  How many rabbits do you have this morning, Arik?”

    “Six good-sized ones this morning, sir,” Arik replied.  “What was the screaming about?”

    Esta looked up at Arik and rubbed his chin.  “Nothing, I suppose.  Where is your friend, Tedi, this morning?  Have you seen him?”

    “No, sir,” the boy answered.  “I suppose he’s sleeping late today.  I should hurry along, though, if I’m going to fish with my father today.”

    “Sorry, Arik,” the innkeeper apologized.  “I saw him leaving while I was upstairs.  I shouldn’t have kept you so long.”

    “It’s okay, Master Tern,” Arik said.  “He doesn’t really need my help anymore.  The fish keep getting smaller and less plentiful each season.  Pretty soon, some of the fishermen are going to have to find other work.”

    “Well, it’s a good thing you’ve decided to branch out then,” chuckled Esta.  “This is a fine morning’s work, Arik, the best batch of rabbits you’ve brought in this month.”

    “Thank you, sir,” beamed Arik as Esta counted out the coins for the young hunter.  “Do you think the bandits will attack Lorgo again?”

    Esta leaned his bulky frame against the long wooden table that was the centerpiece of the kitchen.  “I suppose they will,” he answered.  “Ever since the Collapse, the world has been a very unsafe place.  The bandits will keep attacking and raiding until one of the great armies wipes them out.”

    “Do you think we could send a message to one of these great armies and get them to come help us?” quizzed Arik.

    Esta laughed and scowled at the same time.  “Lad, the only difference between the bandits and the great armies is that the armies are bigger.  They’ll loot and plunder us as sure as the bandits.  The only reason that they will kill the bandits is to get rid of the competition.”  The innkeeper’s brow knotted with concern.  “Sooner or later some of them are going to come, though.”

    Arik gazed at the innkeeper trying to gauge his mood.  For once Master Tern seemed to be talkative, but none of the townspeople seemed to want to talk about the days before the Collapse.  Hesitantly, Arik broached the unspeakable topic.  “What was it like before the Collapse?  Could you really see the sun?  Were there bandits then also?”

    Esta jolted upright and hurriedly glanced around the room before turning a frosty glare at Arik.  His fists were clenched and he appeared to be struggling with himself to avoid striking the boy.  Arik stood toe-to-toe with the innkeeper and didn’t flinch.  Although he was considered a boy in the town, Arik was already a year past Forgeno, the age when young men started their apprenticeships.  Forgeno didn’t hold much meaning in Lorgo anymore, as trade with other cities was limited to an occasional merchant or caravan because of the bandits.  Most merchants refused to travel except with the rare caravans.  As a result, most trades in Lorgo were of a similar nature to a small village instead of the bustling seaport town it used to be and most young men became fishermen.

    Esta’s composure softened and the large man relaxed his tense stand.  “You should know better than to talk of times before the Collapse,” he admonished.  “It is said that to wish for the old times out loud is to bring down the wrath of the Dark One on you and your kin.”

    “But you don’t believe that, do you?” pressured Arik.

    “Of course not,” blustered the innkeeper.  “Still, if anyone heard me talking, the town would boycott my inn.  There aren’t enough travelers to survive on.  I depend on the townspeople coming in and eating and drinking.  I can’t afford to alienate anyone.”

    “I won’t tell a soul,” promised Arik.

    “Well, truth be told, you are of the age to be making up your own mind now and soon you’ll be taking a wife,” whispered Esta.  “I suppose you have the right to know the truth for what it’s worth.”

    “I reckon I do,” smiled Arik, “but I’m not making promises to any girls.”

    “A smart lad,” laughed Esta while glancing around to make sure that they were still alone.  “It’s true enough, it is.  When I was a younger man, Lorgo was a fine town, almost a city.  It was a town in the great nation of Sordoa, which was so large that it would take a month on a fast horse to go from border to border and everywhere that rider went, the sun would shine all day long.  At night you could look up and see the heavens, a thousand twinkling lights dancing around the black sky.  When the moon was full, you could read a book by its light and it used to cast a long swath of golden light over the sea, calling lovers down to the beaches to marvel at its reflection.”

    “I’ve read about the moon, but it’s hard to imagine the sight you describe,” sighed Arik.  “Were there bandits back then, too?”

    “No,” reflected Esta, “bandits didn’t last very long back then.  The army would hang them and the army was a friend of the people in Sordoa, not like the armies of today.  People call them great armies, but they’re just a large band of ruffians.  The Sordoan Army was a real army with uniforms and discipline.  It was the most feared army in the world, but the citizens of Sordoa didn’t have to fear them.  The merchants used to kill bandits, too.  Some young boy from Targa, probably not much older than you, made a name for himself and a fortune by becoming the first merchant with his own army of bandit-killers.  It got so a bandit would only attack a lone stranger in the woods.”

    “Wouldn’t all that sun burn all the crops?” asked Arik.

    “Glory, no,” chuckled the innkeeper.  “The plants need the sun.  The dark sky is why the crops get smaller and fewer every year.  The animals also suffer without enough food to survive on.  No, lad, sunshine is a wonderful thing.  What I’d give to see another sunny day.”

    Arik sensed the innkeeper’s despair and knew his questioning would soon be over.  “What caused the change and when will it change back?” he asked.

    Esta frowned and chewed on his lower lip as he answered.  “Some say that a great demon escaped his imprisonment and collapsed the universes.  A god came along and imprisoned the demon again, but not before the demon found the world’s greatest magician and made him the Dark One and commanded him to rule over the world for a thousand years.  It is said that the Dark One abhors the sun and ordered it to remain hidden and never show its face again.”

    “You mean that I’ll never get to see the sun?” exclaimed Arik.

    Approaching footsteps warned the innkeeper of the pending interruption and he rounded on the young hunter.  “You won’t get to see tomorrow if you don’t get about your business and leave me to mine.”

    Arik walked out the back door of the inn, jiggling the coins in his purse, pondering a world without bandits and an inky black sky.  As he turned the corner of the inn, a hand reached out and grabbed him.

    “Tedi!” Arik exclaimed.

    “Shhh,” whispered Tedi.  “I don’t want old man Esta to hear you.”

    “So it was you,” chuckled Arik.  “What did you do to make the woman scream?”

    Tedi pulled his friend down the dusty alley and away from the inn.  “I was just making rounds of the empty rooms to see if anybody left something behind.  How was I supposed to know that some woman would be getting dressed?”

    Arik shook his head.  “I don’t know what’s going to kill you first, falling off a roof or getting beat to death by your father when you get caught.”

    Tedi frowned at the mention of his father.  “If he beats me again, it will be the last time that he does.  He nearly broke three of my ribs last time.  I’m not going through that again.  I’d rather take my chances in the woods with the bandits.”

    Arik remembered the last time that Tedi was beaten.  Arik was concerned that Alan Markel might kill his son one day.  He knew it wouldn’t be on purpose, but Tedi’s father was drunk most of the time and Arik suspected the fisherman didn’t realize how strong he was or how hard he could hit.  Alan never recovered from the loss of his wife and had spent the last three years going from bottle to bottle.  Arik’s father, Konic Clava, and Alan used to be best friends and used to take their boats out together.  Tedi and Arik used to go along and help.  Three years ago, bandits raided the town and both of the boys’ mothers had been taken.  When the two fishermen and their sons returned from the sea that day, Alan started drinking.  He hasn’t been sober a day since.

    “Why do you do it?” Arik asked.  “Why don’t you take your father’s boat out and fish or come hunting with me?  There are lots of ways to make money without stealing it.  I just sold six rabbits to Esta and he’ll take a lot more if I can get them.”

    Tedi kicked a stone down the dusty alley.  “I don’t know,” he admitted.  “I never was much good at fishing and there aren’t that many fish left, anyway.  I guess I like the adventure, the chance of getting caught and the thrill of getting away with something.  I was never as good a shot with a bow as you, anyway.”

    “We could go hunting together,” offered Arik.  “We’ll split everything we get no matter who bags it.”

    “Your father needs the money as much as mine does,” submitted Tedi.  “He’s always having to buy things to fix his boat and nets.  He’s hardly making enough to live on as it is.”

    “That doesn’t matter,” declared Arik.  “My father and your father have been friends a long time.  I’m sure that he would give whatever he could to help your dad.”

    “Your dad is the only friend my father has,” admitted Tedi, “and my father doesn’t even realize it.  Besides, anything my father gets is going towards the next bottle.  No, I’ll try hunting with you, but I’ll only keep what I actually get myself.”

    “You’re a good enough shot to bring in plenty of game,” cheered Arik.  “Let’s go by my place and I’ll show you the animal trap I made.  I’m hoping that I can catch something really big with it.”

    The smell of fish and salt air increased as the boys sauntered down the alley towards the dock area where both of the boys lived.  Arik laid his bow and quiver on the stoop of his house and led Tedi around to the back yard.  Proudly, Arik picked up his homemade trap and presented it to Tedi.

    “It looks like a metal jaw,” commented Tedi.  “How does it work?”

    “Well, it doesn’t really work yet,” conceded Arik.  “I used oarlocks for the jaws and filed them into teeth.  They’ll hold tight whatever gets between them, but I need to find a couple of stiff springs to put some pressure on them.  I’ve looked everywhere that I can think of, but I can’t find any.  See, the springs will go in right here.”

    Tedi was impressed.  “I’ll check around and see what I can find,” he offered.

    “Well, if you find anything, let me know,” smiled Arik.  “And don’t steal them.  I’ve got enough money to pay for them.”

    “I don’t steal,” replied Tedi angrily.  “Taking stuff that people leave behind before the innkeeper gets it and keeps it for himself is not stealing.”

    “Alright,” conceded Arik, “I just don’t want you getting beat again.”  Arik wanted to believe in Tedi’s honesty, but still he wondered how Tedi could find all of the things he had claimed to find.  It was mostly the things that Tedi found that kept some food on his father’s table and drink in his father’s cup.  What amazed Arik the most, was the gold necklace that Tedi wore all of the time.  It certainly was a very expensive piece of jewelry with six strands of delicate gold woven in an intertwining fashion that culminated in a small golden heart.  Certainly, no goldsmith in Lorgo had the skill to create such a piece and the thought of some traveler leaving it in a room at the inn was preposterous.  The necklace was probably valuable enough to buy a new home, but Tedi never gave any inclination to part with it even when he and his father had no food to eat.  In any event, Tedi stormed off angrily whenever Arik mentioned the necklace.

    “Why don’t we go out to the woods and try getting some game,” offered Arik.

    “Later in the day would be better,” Tedi replied quickly.  “There are bandits just outside of town and the way they were carrying on last night, they won’t be getting up early.”

    “How do you know about the bandits?” asked Arik.

    “I overheard Esta talking to a traveler yesterday,” responded Tedi.  “They were talking about a merchant coming down from the North.  I was hoping to find their campsite and hear tales of the outside before the townspeople all crowded around.  You know how nobody will talk about the old times and I figured if I shared a campfire with him, he would feel better about talking.  The only thing I found were a group of bandits, though.  I don’t suppose a lone merchant will survive to even get here now.”

    “You’re crazy going out in the woods at night,” exclaimed Arik.  He wanted to add in a statement about what they would do to get their hands on Tedi’s necklace and decided not to let Tedi end the discussion and storm off.  “What if the bandits saw you?  Nobody would even know what happened to you?  You would just end up dead and rotting in the forest.”

    Tedi looked down sheepishly and shuffled his feet like a small boy being scolded by his mother.  Slowly, though, his shame turned to anger and he thrust his chin up and his lips tightened with determination.  “I am not a little boy anymore, Arik,” he shouted.  “I know how to take care of myself.  In fact, they did see me and they did try to kill me and they didn’t succeed.”

    “What happened?” Arik asked calmly.  “How did you get away?”

    Tedi stood silently for a moment and calmed himself.  He reached into his pouch and brought out a small metal disk painted black with sharp points on it like an artist’s drawing of a sunburst.  “One of them threw this at me.  I never even saw it coming, but it missed and struck a tree.  I grabbed it and took off.”

    Arik reached over and took the small disk, feeling the sharp points.  Murmuring to himself Arik said, “I wonder if they are planning to attack the town again.  Maybe we should alert somebody.  How many bandits were there?”

    His anger dissipated, Tedi replied softly.  “I didn’t get a chance to find out.  I wanted to sneak back after they chased me, but I couldn’t chance it.  I don’t know how that one bandit knew I was there.  I pride myself on being able to sneak up on people, but I didn’t even get close before he hurled that thing at me.  I guess I’m not as courageous as I like to pretend.”

    “Not courageous!” Arik exclaimed.  “Nobody I know would intentionally sneak up on a group of bandits.  What were you trying to . . . ”, Arik stopped.  It suddenly dawned on him why Tedi was sneaking up on bandits.  Tedi’s whole life had fallen apart the day their mothers were taken from them by bandits.  He wondered how long Tedi had been sneaking into the forest at night in an attempt to find his mother again.  Arik talked admiringly as he gave the small weapon back to Tedi.  “You have more courage than any ten men in this town, Tedi.  Only a fool would have attempted that camp twice.  You’re pretty quiet when you want to be, but that bandit must have pretty good hearing.  You’re used to sneaking around people, not animals.  I’ve learned a few tricks about being quiet in the woods from old man Grein, the trapper.  I could show them to you if you want.”

    “I would like that,” beamed Tedi.  “And I’ll let you practice throwing this nasty little thing at trees.  I don’t know how we are going to alert the townspeople, though.  My father has warned me to stay out of the woods at night and you know what he’ll do if he finds out.”

    “Esta knows that I hunt in the woods,” offered Arik.  “I can tell him that I saw the bandits and you won’t get in trouble.  Tell me exactly where you saw them on the way back to the inn.”

    Arik went back to the front stoop to retrieve his bow and quiver while Tedi ran next door to get his own.  The boys walked along the shore to the quay, lost in conversation of bandits and battle and the town finally standing up to the thieves.  The problem, of course, was that most of the able-bodied men were out to sea trying to haul in meager catches of fish.  At the quay, the boys turned up the broad street heading for the coastal highway that ran through the town of Lorgo.  Many of the shops were abandoned and boarded up.  Arik, once again, began to think of what the town must have been like before the Collapse.  He pictured all of the businesses open and people bustling about with gaily wrapped packages under their arms.  He imagined grand carriages bearing nobility up and down the street with their footmen keeping pace and their mounted guards fore and aft.  He fantasized columns of Sordoan soldiers marching along the coastal highway on their way to a frontier fort, their uniforms all with matching bright colors and gilded with gold.  It took him a moment to realize that Tedi was no longer beside him.  He looked up and down the street and the only person moving was a sturdy woman in a long green dress and wearing a felt hat with an embroidered strip of flowers around it.  She was walking down the center of the wide avenue and staring at him.  Without knowing why, Arik turned and dashed between the two closest buildings and turned down the alley towards the sea.  Arik was halfway down the alley when Tedi called to him.  Arik stopped short and peered around.  Tedi was hiding beside some old crates behind one of the buildings.

    “Why did you leave me?” panted Arik.

    “I had my reasons,” laughed Tedi, “but I’m not running like I just saw a revenant.  What are you running from?”

    Arik winced as he thought of overheard stories of revenants, beings brought back from the dead that could not be killed.  Suddenly he broke out laughing.  “I don’t know,” he offered.  I guess I was daydreaming on the way to the inn and looked up to see this woman walking towards me.  At least I thought she was heading towards me.  It felt like her eyes were burning into me.  I don’t know why, but I just started running.  Pretty stupid, I guess.”

    “If she was wearing green,” Tedi laughed, “it wasn’t so stupid.  That was the woman who screamed this morning at the inn and she saw us walking together before I took off running.  I don’t know if she saw me through her window earlier, but I’m not about to take any chances.  Best off if we just avoid her.”

    “I wonder what she is doing in Lorgo,” Arik mused.  “Her dress is one of the finest I’ve ever seen and Esta remarked about her traveling without a bodyguard.  I can’t see her getting past all of the bandits along the highway and if she had family here, she wouldn’t be staying at the inn.  It just doesn’t make any sense.”

    Tedi stared down the alley and tugged at his woolen breeches.  “You know,” he began, “in all the time I’ve been checking out the Fisherman’s Inn, there has never been a lone woman staying there.  In fact, I don’t remember any woman ever staying there.  Most of the women who come through town stay at one of the inns along the highway.  That’s a pretty fine dress to be heading for the quay.  Well, at least we know she won’t see us when we talk to Esta.  Come on, we’ll go up the alley to the inn.”

    The boys were laughing at being so skittish as they proceeded up the alley, but, still, they each turned and looked towards the street as they passed any opening that afforded a view.  As the boys neared the Fisherman’s Inn, the distinctive sound of a traveling merchant trilled the air.  The two boys looked at each other with their mouths hanging open and raced between two buildings to the street.  Where the street met the coastal highway, a lone merchant's wagon was just pulling into a small courtyard.  The boys forgot all of their thoughts regarding bandits and finely dressed women and raced towards the courtyard.