All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (26 page)

Stavin looked at Kethlan and pushed himself back among the goods that he was sitting on and leaned back. "I'll try," he said just as the wind rocked the wagon, "but it's not going to be easy." Stavin brought out the letter he’d been writing Shari and his ink and quill. This would make a fine tale, if they survived.

The wind continued and suddenly rain joined it, slamming into the wagon like a thousand pebbles thrown at the same time. Stavin jerked awake and was amazed to realize that he had dozed off. The storm lashed the wagon for half the night with wind-driven rain and debris it had picked up from the forest. Sometime late in the night the weather calmed, settling into a heavy rain that fell in sheets across the land.

Morning brought clear skies and sunshine to the region, and the warriors and traders assessed the damage. All of the wagons had survived, though one wagon did have an arm-thick branch through its roof. All of the horses and mules were fine except for one mule that had broken loose and they couldn’t find.

Sahren had her people prepare to move on as soon as she was sure no one was hurt. The going was slow because of the muddy road and all of the fallen trees. Barvil had Stavin, Karvik, Barin, and Chandar ride ahead of the caravan to clear the road of any large branches or trees, so they were the first to see the village.

Or what had been a village.

Omalaha had nearly flattened it, and people were searching among the wreckage, calling out names as they sought for some sign of life among the rubble. Stavin turned in his saddle and shouted, "Sir, we need you," back toward the caravan and Barvil rode toward them at a gallop.

Barvil reached the group in just a few moments and took in the scene at a glance. "We have to wait. Sahren is paying us, and if she says move on, we must move on," he said in a low voice.

Sahren arrived not long after and answered Barvil's questioning look immediately. "Barvil, take your men and do what you can. We'll park the wagons and join you as soon as possible. Tie your horses at the gate and we'll take care of them." Barvil led his men forward at a gallop and soon they were dismounting at the village to join the rescue efforts.

Stavin and Karvik teamed up and went to the first house they saw. A man was there sorting through the rubble and calling the name 'Amara' over and over again.

Stavin touched the man's shoulder and he spun to face the two young warriors. "How may we be of assistance, Sir?" Stavin asked and the man relaxed.

"I'm searching for my sister, Amara. She lived alone here," he said, then went back to his search.

Stavin and Karvik joined in, Stavin using his Dragon's Tongue to slice through timbers and Karvik using his strong muscles to move them out of the way. They had only been there a short time when they heard the man shout,
"Amara!"
and turned to see him kneel and began throwing debris aside. They hurried over to help and removed enough debris to discover that Amara had died when the storm had driven a board through her wall and body, then the wall fell on her. The man collapsed and cried in grief, and Karvik pointed to the next house.

Through the rest of the day and into the night the warriors and traders helped the villagers dig through the rubble in search of the trapped, injured, and dead. By morning the task was done. Every destroyed home had been searched, and the survivors rescued.

Sahren called her people back to the wagons as the sun rose. "Sleep now, my friends. By mid day I want to be on the road again," she said, addressing trader and warrior alike.

Stavin and the others were so tired they just grabbed their bedrolls and lay down against the city wall to sleep. Their plate armor was simply leaned against the wall and all of them were snoring within moments.

V
OICES AWOKE
S
TAVIN SOMETIME LATER, AND
he opened his eyes to see several men facing Trader Sahren. One of the men was gesticulating wildly as he asked, "Then what are we to do? They always come after a storm when we are weakest. All we're asking for is two days. The fleet should be back by then, and we'll have enough men to defend the city against anything."

"Gentlemen, I am already behind my schedule. I had planned to be in Zigamarad two days from now, and it's seven days away. I'm sorry, but we must get back on the road," Sahren said, putting her hands up helplessly.

The man began to speak again but was interrupted by a shout from the city. "Sail! Sail from the east!"

"Your fleet?" Sahren asked.

"No. Only pirates follow the storm. Flee now if you must. We cannot protect you," the man said, then hurried away with the others behind him.

"Gods Below," Sahren muttered. "Gods Below and Below them," she said and turned to find most of the warriors watching her. "Barvil, take your men and do what you can. We'll hide the wagons up the road and half of us will come back to help."

Barvil snapped to attention and bowed. "Yes, Master Trader Sahren. You heard her, men," he said loudly as he turned away from her, "armor up and form up. This should be interesting. I've never fought pirates before."

All of the warriors helped one another buckle their armor and then joined Barvil in the flying geese formation before marching into town. People were walking toward the coast with tools ranging from long filleting knives to woodsmen's axes, but they slowed and stared as the nine warriors marched past.

As they neared the harbor, women and children filed by in the opposite direction, laden with the few valuables they possessed. The men of the town had formed a wall across the main road to the piers, and Stavin was confused to see only twenty or so old men and boys.

"Where are the rest of them?" Karvik asked, voicing Stavin's thought.

"Fishing," Barvil said over his shoulder.

The town leaders saw the warriors coming and hurried to face Barvil. "Thank the Gods Above that you stayed. Take your men to the pier and—"

"With all due respect," Barvil said, interrupting the man, "I'll detail my men as I see fit."

"Are you here to save us or not?" another man asked angrily.

"We are here to aid you, not to throw our lives away," Barvil snapped. "Keep your men where they are and let the pirates come ashore. Once they are on land I'll give the order to scatter. When I do, all of you get out of our way. I don't care what they are like on the water; on the land, we are the superior force."

The men backed down and did as they were told. Soon the pirate ship was swinging into the main pier and men were wading ashore to tie it up. Once their vessel was secure, a group of nearly thirty charged up the pier, brandishing axes and short swords and shouting like madmen.

Barvil waited until they were twenty paces away before shouting, "Scatter!" and the town's men all turned and ran up the road.

The pirates stumbled to a stop when they saw the armored warriors. Several of them started backing away. Then someone on the ship someone shouted, "Ye can still take them, men! There are only be nine of them!"

Another voice shouted, "But they're armed warriors, Captain Bel'Koral! Not common landsmen!"

"Kill them or die by my hand, you cowards!" the captain's voice shouted, and the men on the pier started forward again.

Barvil roared,
"Charge!"
and led the flying wedge of warriors into the clustered pirates. The flying swords and darting Dragon's Tongues of Kel'Kavin met the pirates before they could clear the pier and the slaughter began.

For the pirates, it was an unpleasant turn of events. Commoners themselves, they had always fought against other commoners. The old men, women, and children that the fishermen left behind seldom put up much of a fight, and never with real weapons. Only members of the Chosen or Warrior Clans were allowed to own real weapons such as swords. Most of the landsmen didn't even seem to know how to fight an armed opponent.

Now the pirates faced men who had been trained to fight as soon as they learned to walk. Men bred to be stronger, faster, and more deadly than their lesser brethren. Men of the Cat Clans, possessing the fierceness and reflexes of the ancient plains cats.

Stavin was on the outer point of the wedge and took his first opponent with a high strike to the throat, the blade of his golden Dragon's Tongue nearly beheading the pirate as it passed. Stavin ducked and shoved his shoulder into the dying man's ribs to push him off the pier and almost fell in himself. He didn't have time to be frightened by the prospect of falling into the water as another pirate struck at him. Reflex overrode thought as the golden Dragon's Tongue darted out to split the man's heart.

All of the warriors were having similar luck against the pirates. The fine steel of the Kel'Kavin swords, forged in the ancient fashion, cut through the plain steel and common iron of the pirates' weapons as easily as they cut through the unarmored bodies of the pirates themselves.

Barvil didn't stop when he passed the last pirate, and his men followed his lead. The empty pier was in front of them and the men on the ship were desperately trying to free their lines and escape. But there was no escaping the warriors as Barvil led them up the plank to the deck. The pirates on the ship fought with the ferocity of cornered rats, but none of them lasted more than two breaths against Old Farindia's finest warriors.

Stavin found himself facing a man who knew how to use a sword and shield, and took a moment to fight him. He let the man catch his Dragon's Tongue with his sword and used the momentum that the man's push gave him to sweep the lower blade of his Dragon's Tongue up through the shield, splitting it and the man's arm at the same time before sweeping across to behead him and move on to the next opponent.

The fight was done in just a few bloody moments and Barvil led his men ashore once again. The men of the town stood in silent awe as Barvil marched up to them. "That was disappointing. I'd always heard that pirates were fearsome fighters," he said, then turned to his men. "Get your kill counts and war-booty. Dispatch any wounded and head back to the city gates. I don't think Sahren wants to stay here very long."

"What about the ship?" one of the townsmen asked.

Barvil raised his hands and shrugged. "Does anyone want to buy it?"

There was a whispered conference among the town's men, then the leader stepped forward. "We are poor in gold, good Sir. The most we can come up with is about one hundred gold crowns. It's nowhere near what a ship like that is worth, but it's all we have."

Barvil sighed and said, "Well, we can't take it with us. Gather your gold and silver while we gather our due from the dead." He turned away and started searching the men he had killed.

Stavin had accounted for only six pirates in his fight and was disappointed by his count. Four men had fallen to his blades on the pier and only two more on the ship. He was searching the beheaded swordsman when Barvil called to him.

"Stavin, with me. Kar, Kahn, don't let any of the townsmen aboard until we come up." He opened the door into the ship's sterncastle and walked in with his sword in his hand. Stavin was just two steps behind him with his Dragon's Tongue at the ready.

Barvil kicked open the door into the captain's cabin and charged through with his sword ready, but he was alone. Looking at Stavin he said, "Search for a locked box or cabinet. Every story I've ever heard about pirates had the gold and silver in the captain's cabin." The two searched and after a few minutes Barvil said, "Hah! Stavin, come here." Stavin went to Barvil's side and looked where he was pointing. "Cut that open," Barvil commanded as he pointed at a ventilated cabinet.

Stavin brought his Dragon's Tongue up and slid the point of a blade down the side of the cabinet door. The door opened to reveal a strongbox bound with iron. Stavin didn't have to be prompted this time and the lock fell away after one blow.

Barvil opened the box and grunted. "Not much of a treasure, but added to the hundred gold from the town it'll do just fine. Off we go, Stavin. Lead the way."

Stavin led the way back out to the deck and all of the warriors came to ask what Barvil was carrying. "It'll wait. Dav, Kahn, you two carry this. Let Karvik and Stavin carry your booty. Don't stop until you get to our horses. I'll deal with the townsmen."

The box was spotted as it was carried through the town, but nothing was said. Kahndar and Davel led their hands to their horses, arriving just before the traders came back up the road.

"It's over?" Sahren asked.

Davel said, "It's over. We'll be ready to go as soon as Barvil finishes with the townsmen."

Sahren stepped up to Davel and looked him in the eye. "You sound disappointed. Why?"

Davel grimaced and said, "I only got four kills," in a sullen tone. "They were supposed to be fearsome pirates, but there wasn't a warrior among them."

Sahren began to laugh and soon everyone was laughing with her. "Davel, they weren't warriors. They were pirates. Common men, every one of them. They didn't grow up with swords in their hands like you did. Those pirates have probably never encountered competent armed opponents before. They've always just slaughtered other commoners who don't know as much about sword work as a ten-year-old of your people."

"But all the stories about pirates paint them as fearsome fighters who kill everyone they face," Davel complained.

"And what is said of the Warriors of Kel'Kavin?" she asked. "You actually
do
kill everyone you face, and real warriors at that. The stories about pirates are told by the survivors for their raids. Commoners, like the pirates themselves. Of course they consider the pirates fearsome fighters who kill everyone. Most of them have never seen what someone like you can do." Barvil joined them a short time later and they all returned to the caravan.

That night Barvil awarded the kills to his men. "Davel, you claim four. That gives you fifteen. Kahndar claims six for a total of fourteen. Lavin claims five, bringing his total to twelve and earning him his second red stripe. Congratulations, Command Sergeant Kel'Farin. Chandar claims four for a total of ten. Horvan claims five and also totals out at ten. Barin claims six for a total of nine and earns his first red stripe. Congratulations Sergeant Kel'Kandis. Karvik claims seven," he paused to look at his grinning son, "bringing him to a total of seventeen and his third red stripe. Congratulations, Senior Sergeant Kel'Carin. Stavin claims six, also totaling seventeen, and earning him his third red stripe. Congratulations Senior Sergeant Kel'Aniston. I claim six. That's forty-nine, but I counted fifty-two bodies. Who isn't sure of their count?" When no one spoke he looked around and shook his head. "Davel gets one and his third red stripe, and Chandar gets one and his second red stripe and Horvan gets the last one and his second red stripe. Congratulations to Senior Sergeant Kel'Borvan and Command Sergeants Kel'Varin and Kel'Erins. Now there's the matter of the strongbox. Dav, Kahn, I asked for a count. What did you come up with?"