All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (24 page)

A serving girl met them as soon as they passed the doors. "Yer pleasure, good sirs?" she asked, winking saucily at the warriors.

"Beef and beer, young miss," Barvil replied. "Is Master Steward Fel'Anders still running this establishment?" he asked as she turned away.

"He is, good Sir," the girl replied with a wide smile.

"Then you'll still have Fel'Anders Prime. Five, and the rarer the better. White tubers and greens for all of us," Barvil ordered.

"Yes, good sirs. This way," the girl said and led them across the room. "Bein' warriors, I'd guess you'd want a wall t' yer back. This is as close as we presently have available."

The table only had two chairs with the wall at their backs, but Barvil nodded and said, "It'll do. Davel, join me. I don't expect trouble, not in here at any rate."

The five sorted themselves out with Karvik getting the seat that put his back directly toward the room. The others looked amused as he glanced around and sighed. "I can't wait ‘til it's my turn to be senior."

Everyone laughed at that. "Your turn will come, Kar," Davel said. "Just keep following Stavin around and you'll be leading your fifth expedition. Of course, so will he, so you won't be together."

"I could live with that, Dav, but with only five stripes so far I'm not going to bet on it," Karvik replied with a laugh.

The food arrived and suddenly thoughts of future expeditions faded as the most tender beef they had ever eaten grabbed their attention. Barvil grinned as the conversation stopped and the only sound was that of knives and forks. Then another sound intruded as a man cleared his throat.

"I heard there was a hand of warriors in my establishment and came to investigate. I am Master Steward Angus Fel'Anders, and I think one of you is an old acquaintance. Is that you, Barvil?"

Barvil stood. "It is, Angus. It's good to see you, and better to taste your cooking again. Will you join us?"

Angus shook his head slowly. "Ah, I wish I could, Barvil. I wish I could. Unfortunately, I have to leave now or I'll be late for an appointment with the Lord Mayor. Enjoy your meals, my friends. Perhaps I'll return before you have to leave." He gave Barvil a bow, and Barvil returned it deeply.

Angus headed for the door and was almost there when ten men burst through, clubbing the peace-keeper to the floor. "You were warned, innkeeper. This is the Varacats' territory now. You pay or you burn. Which will it be?"

Angus was still looking at the peace-keeper bleeding on his floor when five armored forms brushed past him. Faster than he could follow, the toughs who called themselves the Varacats were the ones bleeding, and the four leaders were dead.

Barvil looked at Angus and asked, "Shall we kill them all, Master Fel'Anders?"

Angus was looking at the dead men on his floor and shook his head. "No, they're just small-time strong-arm thieves. Give them a few bruises and throw them out. I'm sure the Freelancers will be interested in knowing who's moved in on
their
turf." He smiled evilly. "I'll pass the word to my contact on the way. Enjoy your meals, men. You've earned them."

"Yes, Sir," Barvil answered. "You heard him, men. Throw them out." Each man was grabbed by all four of the young warriors and thrown out, all the way across the walkway and into the street. The bodies were thrown as well.

Angus stepped over to Barvil and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I owe you again, Barvil. Don't worry about the bodies. The people I actually do pay for protection will deal with them." Turning to the serving girl, he nodded and said, "My treat, Mellis." Her nod was sufficient and Angus clasped forearms with Barvil for a moment, then he was gone.

"Angus was the caravan cook the first year I led an expedition. I saved his life more than once that year, and he remembers it. I got two. Who got the others?"

All eyes turned to Karvik. "I didn't mean to, Dad," he said, "they were just the right distance apart and—" He held up his Dragon's Tongue to show both blades stained with blood.

All of the warriors laughed as they returned to their meals. Davel slapped Karvik's shoulder. "What's the count, Kar?"

"Seven. My first red stripe," he replied, grinning so broadly that everyone who saw him had to grin as well.

S
AHREN SPENT JUST ONE MORE DAY
in Zel'Fray before deciding to move on. "I'm buying twice what I'm selling," she muttered in complaint as they ate that night. "We've got to get out of here while the wagons can still roll."

The caravan left Zel'Fray early the next day and headed east into the lower coastal regions of Evandia. Sahren used Stavin's status much more in this area. Hardly a day passed that they didn't cross a bridge or a raised causeway through a swampy area, and every one of them charged the same five sparks per wagon and one for each rider.

On the fifth day after leaving Zel'Fray they reached the city of Zel'Doran. Sahren stopped, circling her wagons at the caravansary. Barvil looked back and waved Kahndar and Davel to his side. "Kahn, take your hand and begin rounds. Dav, set up camp."

Barvil looked at their wagon once again and grimaced. "Sahren thinks we're going to be stuck with that wagon until we reach Coravia. No one in Evandia will touch it with the mark of Fel'Hadar on it."

"We could just abandon it, Sir," Davel said. "It's costing us money to keep the draft horses."

Barvil shook his head. "That wagon is worth eight or nine gold crowns, Dav. I won't abandon it unless I absolutely have to."

"Yes, Sir," Davel said and began setting up their camp, wagon and all. The wagon did give them a place to store their gear other than behind their saddles, and it also gave one of them a chance to stay out of the saddle every day. That did the horses and riders some good.

Trader Sahren and her people were doing a brisk business until a well-dressed man arrived with twenty toughs at his back. Then the customers all just seemed to fade away. Sahren and Barvil walked out of the circle of wagons to see what the trouble was and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the man. Sahren's lips drew into a straight, angry line and she addressed the leader.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Our due, good trader. Only our due. You should have contacted us before you set up in our territory," the man said, maintaining a pleasant demeanor the whole time.

"I don't think you want to press this issue," Sahren said as she walked toward the man. "I am under contract to Elain Fel'Carvin. You have heard of her, haven't you?"

The man laughed. "Elain doesn't hold sway here. Ahmel Fel'Barkan controls the coast. For five gold crowns, you can do business in his territory."

"And if I refuse?" Sahren asked.

"It's a terrible thing when a wagon burns with people still in it. There's all that screaming, and then the smell—"

"I understand you," Sahren said in a subdued tone. "You come with me. Everyone else stays here."

"Sahren," Barvil began, but her raised hand and silenced him.

"Some bandits are too powerful to fight. Fel'Barkan is such a man. Fire-arrows can't be stopped by swords, Barvil. Five gold is cheap compared to the lives of my family."

Sahren and the leader of the criminals returned a short time later and she stopped by Barvil while the man continued on. The horde of enforcers parted to let him pass, then turned to follow him. "We are clear until we hit the highlands again. Gods Below, this makes me so angry. Elain's contractors are supposed to be safe throughout the kingdom," Sahren said in a voice harsh with rage.

Barvil turned to give her a curious look. "Is she really that powerful?" he asked.

"Yes, she is. I've carried her consignments through here before without any trouble. Now Fel'Hadar and Fel'Barkan are not honoring their agreements with her. Someone thinks Elain is getting old—which she is, mind you, but her daughters and granddaughters are not."

Barvil had to smile at the tone of Sahren's voice. "Are they all named Elain as well?" he asked.

"Yes," Sahren said with a hint of a smile. "Every firstborn girl child is given the name Elain, but they use their paternal grandmother's name unless they inherit and become the newest Elain. When I first met Elain, she went by the name Marah."

Barvil nodded and walked back into the warriors' camp. The watch changed hands moments later and all three of Kahndar's men joined him as he walked to Barvil's side.

"Sir, what was that confrontation with those muscle-heads about?" Kahndar asked for all of them.

"The price of doing business in Evandia," Barvil said, then explained what had transpired.

"We could have taken them, Sir," Kahndar almost snarled.

Barvil shook his head "If that were all of them, I might have tried, but Sahren is better-informed than I am. She knows what we are facing and chose to pay. However, she is going to have a very good story for Elain the next time they meet."

The warriors continued to patrol the caravan, but few customers returned. The enforcers of Fel'Barkan had frightened everyone away. It was late in the night when trouble returned.

Davel's hand was on guard when a dozen men raced out of the shadows towards Sahren's wagon. Lavin saw them and began shouting as he ran to intercept them. Chandar was behind Lavin in the circle and came to his aid immediately, shouting
"We are under attack!"
as loudly as he could.

Stavin reacted to the shout, scrambling out of his bedroll and grabbing his helmet and Dragon's Tongue. The rest of his armor was forgotten as he answered the call for help.

Lavin and Chandar were back to back and on the defensive when Stavin arrived. He didn't make a sound as he attacked, and two surprised men died without ever seeing him. Barvil, Kahndar, and the rest of the warriors were not as quiet, bellowing war cries as they ran to aid the guards.

Stavin saw Karvik join the battle and ran toward him as four men broke toward that part of the caravan. Karvik met them but was bypassed by all but one of the bandits. That man died with Karvik's Dragon's Tongue in his eye, then Karvik joined Stavin and chased the other three.

The three thieves had gone directly to Sahren's wagon and were climbing aboard when Karvik and Stavin caught up with them. Almost in unison, Stavin and Karvik stopped and threw their Dragon's Tongues like spears, killing two of the men and leaving the last man to Karvik's sword.

The surviving thief jumped down to face them with a large knife in his hands, but Karvik didn't even slow down. He hit the man at a full run and drove his sword through the man's body until they both hit the wagon and stopped.

Stavin had to climb a wagon wheel to reach his Dragon's Tongue, and freed Karvik's as well while he was there, tossing it to his friend's outstretched hand.

"Three and three, Kar. Let's go get more," Stavin said as he jumped down.

"Do you think they left us any?" Karvik asked as he wiped the blood from his sword so he could sheath it.

"No, but I've been wrong before," Stavin answered with a laugh and Karvik joined him as he returned to the battle.

There were no surviving thieves by the time Stavin and Karvik got back to the scene of the attack. They both walked to Barvil's side and came to attention. "Sir, there are three more of them by Trader Sahren's wagon," Stavin reported.

"What is your count?" Barvil asked, his eyes on Karvik.

"Three and three, Sir."

"It just isn't fair," Lavin said as he shook his head. "Stavin was asleep. I was right in their path. Stavin got three, and I only got two. It just isn't fair."

Davel nodded in agreement. "He's too fast, and his armor weighs half what ours does. On top that, he's got the reflexes of a cat."

"It's all those years of extra training he got," Horvan said with a grin.

"Yeah," Chandar agreed, "all those years dodging the bigger boys and evading them has given him an unfair advantage."

Barvil was actually laughing when he said, "That's enough, boys. Time to grow up and be warriors again." He looked over toward the wagons as Sahren led a group of her people toward them with the bodies.

"Barvil, look at this one," she said as the bodies were unceremoniously dropped among their comrades. "Do you recognize him?"

"The leader of the men earlier. I'd guess that the safe passage you bought is worthless," Barvil said as he looked at the man. Kneeling, he searched the body and came up with a purse. Looking at Stavin and Karvik, he asked, "Whose kill?"

Stavin looked at Karvik at the same time that Karvik looked at him. "I don't know," Stavin said. "We each got one with our Dragon's Tongues, then Karvik got the third with his sword." Stavin knelt and rolled over the body of the other man who had been pinned to the wagon and looked at his back. "This is a smaller wound. I think that one is Karvik's."

Barvil tossed the pouch to Karvik. "Tuck that away before someone sees it." Standing, he addressed the rest of his men. "Search your kills, then drag the bodies off to the side. Anyone not in full armor," he paused to look at Stavin, "armor up."

* * *

Stavin went and put his armor on as he thought about Horvan's comment. In a certain light, the years he'd spent being pummeled, chased, and teased
were
training of sorts. Because of Harner and his friends he knew how to fall without getting hurt. He knew how to evade the bigger boys, and now that he thought of it, those same tactics were working against the bandits they were facing.

He shook his head sadly.
Five years of being bullied at the hands of boys I once
—he shook his head again. At least he was making a better showing against the bandits than he had ever expected. Eleven men were dead because he was faster than they were.
And,
a stubbornly honest portion of his mind added,
because of the dragon's gift.
His old armor probably wouldn't have withstood the impact of that first swordsman's strike, or the knife to the groin. His old Dragon's Tongue wouldn't have sliced so easily through the bodies of his opponents.

Strapping on all of his armor that he could, he joined his watch mates and Kahndar finished buckling his back and breast plates for him. Then they all joined the rest patrolling the area.