Free Spellscribed Tales: First Refrain by Kristopher Cruz

left."
    Leona looked over the sword again one more time. She left the room, returning a moment later with tools. She carefully dismantled the pommel, and unwrapped the leather grip. She pried out the anchoring pin from the tang, and pulled the broken blade free from the pommel.
    She stared at it, surprise evident on her face.
    "What is it, mom?"
    Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the tang, the bit of the blade that extends into the handle. "This is  Rathe craftsmanship." she declared. "How did that get into our house?"
    "Rathe?" Joven asked. "I'm not sure. It's not yours? It looks like yours."
    His mother shook her head. "The Rathe craftsman uses a narrow headed smithing hammer, and doesn't polish the metal down through the tang before assembly. I do."
    Joven shook his head, confused. "So, that's not my sword?"
    Leona slammed a fist into the table, causing a vibration Joven could feel through the floor at his feet. "Damn it!" She exclaimed. "Talen wanted Korvos to win. He must have  replaced the weapon after you were asleep."
    "Hold on! Why would he want me to lose?" Joven demanded. "What does he gain from it? And how did they craft it, if the match was determined only a day before?"
    Leona dropped the broken handle on the table with disgust. "I don't know. Maybe he took a defective blade from their forge that night and replaced it here. He knows enough about weapons to change the blade. But him running off like this makes more sense now. He knew he'd get found out."
    "If he knew, why did he come to apologize?" Joven asked. "That just makes no sense."
    "I don't know!" Leona exclaimed. "What I do know is that Daelen is going to be pissed."
    "Who's going to be pissed?" Daelen asked, walking into the kitchen. He was dressed in leather armor covered in molded metal plates. "Don't tell me the boar's all gone."
    Leona tossed the broken weapon handle at him, and Daelen caught it without so much as a glance in the direction it came from. "Throwing knives now?" Daelen said jokingly.
    "That's Joven's sword handle, the blade that broke yesterday. It's been tampered with."
    "We locked up last night."
    "That's true."
    "So you're saying one of us did it?"
    "Who's missing all of the sudden?"
    Daelen froze, his grip suddenly tightening on the weapon handle. "What?" he said, his voice low.
    "He had a Rathe crafted blade, and he  replaced Joven's sword with a defective one in the middle of the night before the match." Leona continued.
    "Enough." Daelen replied. "I'll find the boy when I get back, and I'll deal with him."
    Daelen threw the useless handle hard enough that one flange of the guard hit the stone wall across the kitchen and cracked.
    "Where are you going?" Joven asked.
    Daelen struggled to contain his temper. "King Gurn's son 'requested' that I accompany his father on his yearly hunting trip. I'll have to be out for the next few days. Unless he's lucky and catches something worthwhile on the first day."
    "It's still a great honor to be requested to join." Leona replied. "Show him what we can do. We'll look into this trickery."
    "It was Kalenden's suggestion." Daelen replied. "He said that we would save face if I were to be there."
    Joven felt a sharp sting in his chest hearing those words. "Dad…,” he started to speak.
    "No." Daelen interrupted. "That's not why I'm doing it. I'll be back soon. But I'm going to be taking the Inheritance with me."
    "What?" Leona exclaimed. "You know it drives me crazy when you use that thing!"
    Daelen shot her a grin, one that Joven had learned to emulate over the years, though his eyes did not reflect any joy. "You're just jealous that I'm not using one of yours." he said, teasing.
    "But why are you using it?"
    Daelen shrugged. "Kalenden wanted me to accompany Gurn on this hunting trip. That would mean he wants me around for his protection, not because I'm an excellent hunter."
    "So you want to be there to protect him." Leona concluded.
    "And the axe is more than a weapon." Daelen