by Harold Fort
Visiting the small port town of Bruce in the country of Llewdor today, it’s hard to believe that until a few years ago it was a community that lived in fear. The only testament to those days is the looming old house on top of the mountain that rises nearby, with one long and dangerously swerving road leading up to it. Today, the town is growing as word of its freedom spreads and it is on its way to becoming quite a bustling port on the eastern coast of the continent of Tanalore.
“Sometimes I would go months without being able to restock my shelves,” says Robert, the shopkeeper of the general store. An older man and lifelong bachelor, he’s lived in Bruce for years with just his dog Kenny for company, and recently bought the neighboring tavern. “And more often than not I would have to turn a blind eye to the fact my new stores were coming from pirates. It was impossible to keep an honest business running.
Even then, keeping my profits up was hard, too. That nasty old wizard was a harsh bargainer and he’d never pay a penny more than he believed the goods were worth. Which, let me tell you, was far less than I’d have preferred! Still, with power like that and his temper, it was best to just smile and nod and not risk it.”
The shopkeeper isn’t the only one who remembers the temper of the old wizard. A lovely young barmaid, who gave her name as Sheela, told the Four Winds more. “He wasn’t much for talking, or even drinking, really. But when he was in town, oh, everyone knew right fast about it! Word spread quick, and even if it didn’t, you’d know by how the town just got real quiet-like. The days he was calm, it was nice and over quickly, but the days when his temper was on the rise, those were bad days. The sky’d rumble and he’d scream at anyone who had the bad luck to get in his path. One of those days, a few of the bandits who used to live here, they’d had a few and decided they’d show him who was in charge around here. Never did see those two again, and they were regulars.”
Now imprisoned in the town’s jail, the other two members of a former gang of bandits who once plagued the town confirmed the story. They could give no further details of the fate of their former cohorts, but they haven’t seen them since the confrontation years back.
10