All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (33 page)

Trade was brisk, and Trader Sahren had her people divesting themselves of as much merchandise as they could. Stavin watched the traders carefully and finally he decided to ask why. "Angeleese, why are you all trying to empty your wagons?" he asked as he stood watch beside her booth.

"We are on our way to the border with Coravia. Your status won't save us taxes or tolls there, so we're turning as much of our cargo into coin as we can. They tax our goods, not our purses. Your wagon will be taxed as well."

That tidbit of information was a jarring reminder to Stavin. He'd become so used to just signing his name that he'd forgotten that he was only exempt in Evandia. In Coravia, Kavadia, and even Farindia, his status as a Friend of Evandia was all but meaningless.

The next morning the caravan approached the Zel'Yavin Gorge Bridge at sunrise. Stavin rode ahead on Karvik's horse to deal with the toll while Karvik drove the wagon.

Sahren kept on straight through Southridge and out into the mountains. By her estimation they had eight days left in Evandia and only one more stop before the border. The caravan pushed on for three days before reaching the mountain village called Dragon's Nest.

Dragon's Nest sat in a bowl-shaped mountain valley and drew its name from a curious formation of basalt pillars that appeared to have been piled in a circle around seven large boulders that were roughly egg-shaped. No dragons had ever been seen near them and no mage had ever detected even a trace of magic around them, so the whole thing was just assumed to be an accident of nature.

Sahren formed a line of booths with her wagons in the village festival ground, and the caravan was soon besieged by men and women from the village. The sound of haggling grew louder and Stavin started to worry that there would be trouble.

He watched as Kethlan ended a trade for far less than Stavin would have dreamed he would accept. As the woman walked away with a happy smile lighting her face, Stavin stepped over to Kethlan's side. "Is there a problem, Kethlan? I never thought I'd see you take a deal like that," he said.

Kethlan smiled and shook his head. "In the lowlands, no, I wouldn't have, but these good people know how the wind blows, Stavin. That dress will never be worn here. It'll be sold to a trader coming into Evandia and at a profit. Even so, I got more than I paid, and I'll not be taxed on it. It's how trade is done, Stavin. If I took that dress across to Coravia, the tax would make it a losing proposition. Just you wait till we reach the border. We'll be selling at or slightly below our cost to avoid the tax. On the other side we'll restock with goods sold off by other caravans headed this way who've divested themselves of goods for the same reason."

According to the locals it was a four-day trip to the border from Dragon's Nest, and it was on the second day that trouble once again found the caravan. This time the attack was from the rear, and the target was very definitely Stavin.

The first indication they had that they were under attack was when something hit Stavin in the back and nearly sent him sprawling forward onto the tongue of the wagon. As he struggled to right himself, something hit the side of his helmet hard and one of the draft horses screamed. Stavin saw a crossbow bolt in the horse's flank, and after a breath or two, surged back into the seat, and grabbed his Dragon's Tongue just as Davel rode by shouting, "Attack from the rear!"

Stavin looked behind the caravan and saw Davel and Kahndar engaging twelve men as Lavin, Horvan, and Chandar rode into the fight. Stavin stumbled and nearly fell as the wagon came to a sudden stop. Looking to the front, he saw that the injured horse had fallen and knocked the other horse from its feet. Their struggles shook the wagon, but Stavin had other worries.

Two men had broken away from the fight and were riding hard toward the wagon. One shot another crossbow bolt at him, striking his breastplate dead center and knocking him backwards onto his hind end. The other jumped onto the wagon and swung a sword at Stavin's neck.

Stavin instinctively brought his arm up to protect his neck and the blow crashed into his mail, not cutting through but breaking his arm anyway. Stavin screamed in pain and swept his Dragon's Tongue toward the man, but he caught the haft and yanked it from Stavin's hand. As his weapon flew away from the wagon, Stavin fell back on instinct. His foot came up and he kicked, driving the heel of his boot into his assailant's crotch. His desperately seeking hand closed on a captured sword and he brought it up as the man collapsed forward, driving the point into the man's mouth as he started to scream.

The second man had discarded his crossbow and drawn a sword before climbing into the wagon. He saw that Stavin was down, as was his accomplice, and stepped forward with a grin. "Time to die, boy," he snarled and stabbed forward with his sword.

Stavin managed to divert the blow with his good hand and kicked again, this time only causing his opponent to trip on a bolt of cloth and fall on his butt, facing Stavin. Stavin had grabbed another sword and threw it like a spear at the man's head as he tried to get to his feet. A second sword followed the first, but neither did anything but keep the man down. Then his searching hand closed on the haft of an ax and he threw that as well. The ax flew straight and true and crashed into the man's helmet, knocking him unconscious.

Stavin collapsed against the back of the wagon's seat and slowly became aware of two things. First, the fight was over. Second, and more importantly, his arm hurt worse than he'd ever hurt before.

Someone was calling his name, and that drew his attention away from his pain. He looked up as Karvik climbed into the wagon. "Stave! Are you all right?"

Stavin shook his head and said, "My arm is broken and my Tongue is out there somewhere."

"Any other injuries?" Barvil asked from the other side of the wagon.

"No, Sir," Stavin answered.

"Stay with him, Kar."

"Two more dead to his credit. That gives him his first red star," Karvik said, grinning at his father.

"Only one," Stavin said through gritted teeth. "That one's not dead."

"One was enough," Karvik said with a grin.

Barvil checked the man. "No, he isn't dead yet. We'll see to that later." He looked up the road. "Barin, free that horse and put the other one down. We'll use some of their animals in the harness now."

"Yes, Sir," Barin answered and a sound like an ax hitting wet wood immediately followed.

"I've got your Dragon's Tongue, Stave," Kahndar said as he stopped beside the wagon. "How did they get close enough to get it away from you?"

"Crossbow," Stavin said, pointing in the direction the bandits had come from. "One in the back and one off my helmet, and then another in the chest."

Kahndar picked up the dead-man's sword and examined it. "Your mail ruined this one, Stave. It looks like he's been cutting rocks. Now this man," Kahndar said as he stripped the helmet off of the unconscious man, "looks familiar. Recognize him, Stave?" he asked as he held the unconscious man's head up.

S
TAVIN LOOKED AT THE MAN AND
nodded. "Carad, from Zel'Marran. That sergeant was right. I should have killed him when I had the chance," he said, shaking his head slowly.

Carad slowly regained consciousness, and found Stavin sitting in the wagon facing him with his Dragon's Tongue in his right hand. "You've failed again, fool," Stavin said as Carad's eyes focused on him. "I spared you once and you tried to shoot me in the back. I won't make that mistake again."

"Give me my sword and we'll see who's the fool, boy," Carad snarled.

"No. I gave you one chance. That's enough." Stavin's hand snapped forward driving the point of his Dragon's Tongue into Carad's chest. "Maybe executing you is beyond my authority, but simply killing a bandit isn't. I just wanted you to be awake when I did it."

Carad's mouth worked, but no sound emerged. Stavin's Dragon's Tongue had severed his windpipe just above his lungs. In moments, Carad was dead. Once Carad's eyes went blank, Stavin let Barvil and Kahndar take him to Angeleese's wagon.

That night, Barvil called Stavin up in front of his comrades. "Stavin Kel'Aniston, you have done what no man before you has ever accomplished. Never in the history of our people has a man earned his first star on his first expedition. With twenty-seven kills, you have done that today. In accordance with the traditions of our ancestors, you have earned the rank of Warleader Sixth. It won't do you any good until you are on your fifth expedition, but you have earned it."

Stavin snapped to attention and bowed deeply. "I understand completely, Sir," he said. "I just can't wait to see the look on Dorvina's face when she sees it."

Karvik began laughing so hard that he fell backwards off of his bench and rolled on the ground. "She's going to
scream
!"

"And what about Shari?" Kahndar asked.

"She isn't going to scream. She's going to make me tell the tale over and over and over again until she has it all written down," Stavin said with a grin. "Shari is the one who is going to make Dorvina scream. After all, Harner didn't go out this year."

"We're not done yet," Barvil said and the warriors quieted down. "Kahndar, you claimed three today, bringing your total to nineteen. Davel, you claimed two, also bringing your total to nineteen. Lavin, you claimed two for a total of fifteen. Horvan claimed one for a total of sixteen and his third red stripe. Congratulations, Senior Sergeant Kel'Erins. Chandar claimed two for a total of thirteen. Congratulations to all of you on a job well done."

The caravan reached the border town of Fort Zel'Narlis two days later. The Evandian side seemed to be one large caravansary, and Sahren had her wagons stop in a straight line. Stavin was once again driving the warrior's wagon, but he had a horse tied to the back. One of the bandits' horses had proven to be well-trained, and Stavin had traded the two horses he had claimed to Davel for it. The combination of Bone-Heal from Angeleese's kit and Heal-All from Barvil's pack had left him sore but functional by the time they arrived.

Stavin tied the reins to the brake and followed his orders, no matter how much he hated them. Barvil had issued them as soon as they had come out of the mountains. "Stavin, you stay on the wagon and guard our belongings. Sahren said this is where a lot of goods vanish. I also don't want you in a fight until you're more steady on your feet."

Stavin said, "Yes, Sir," with barely disguised reluctance, and Barvil gave him a piercing look. "I will, Sir," Stavin assured his commander, and Barvil finally nodded.

"See that you do," was Barvil's final comment before riding to the front.

Stavin watched as dozens of men and women came from other caravans to browse Sahren's wagons. The sound of haggling was like the murmur of a city, and soon Stavin was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.

"And what are you selling, golden warrior?" a man's voice asked, causing Stavin's head to snap around.

"Nothing, good Sir. These are goods we have purchased to take home," Stavin answered as he fought to calm his racing heart.

"You'd pay tax to the Coravians on your goods?" the man asked.

"If needs be, yes," Stavin answered.

"They'll demand five percent of the value. You'd do better to sell here and buy again over there." The man smiled and Stavin grew suspicious.

"How do we know we can find the same goods over there?" Stavin asked, leaning forward.

"It could be that the exact same items could be found on the Coravian side of the border. Perhaps still packed in the same wagon." The man smiled as Stavin nodded.

Barvil walked over and interrupted any further conversation. "Be on your way. There's no trade to be had here," he said, laying his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I was just speaking to this fine young man about—"

"Smuggling. Sahren warned me. Be gone." Barvil snapped and bared a finger of blade.

"I'm gone. I'm gone," the man said as he hurried away.

Barvil turned toward Stavin and scowled. "Good guards don't let themselves be distracted like that, Stavin. Two men were creeping toward the wagon while you were concentrating on that fool. Concentrate on your job and let me worry about anything else."

Stavin snapped, "Yes, Sir," and bowed deeply as Barvil walked away. In what seemed to be a short time to Stavin, the wagons jerked into motion again and Stavin hurriedly took his seat and joined them. Sahren led them straight to the border crossing and men in the uniform of the Coravian Army walked up to each wagon.

The soldier who approached the warriors' wagon appeared to be a young boy until he spoke. That's when Stavin realized that he was a girl. "What cargo do you carry?" she asked.

Stavin recovered from the shock of seeing a woman in uniform and replied, "Goods we have purchased to take home."

The girl looked up at him, but didn't smile. "You're an unusual group, then. Few warriors buy a wagonload of goods."

"Few warriors have their resources, trooper," a middle-aged man said from behind her.

The girl turned and snapped to attention. "Sir, this man claims that these are not goods for trade," she reported.

"Possibly so," the man, a Coravian major, said as he looked up at Stavin. "I am Major Kel'Kahri. Am I right in thinking that you are Friend of Evandia Stavin Kel'Aniston?"

"Yes, Major," Stavin replied, coming to attention in his seat.

"What is the total value of the goods in your wagon, Friend Stavin?" the major asked.

"Sir, I believe the value of our purchases is between fifteen and twenty gold crowns, Sir," Stavin answered.

The girl snorted and the major took a step back. "That is quite a bit, Friend Stavin. Are you sure?"

Stavin said, "Yes, Sir. The fifteen is mine, so I'm sure of that. The other five is a guess based on what my comrades have been buying."

The trooper was openly gaping at Stavin and the major chuckled when he saw her expression. "What's the matter, trooper? Haven't you ever heard an honest answer before?"

"
No,
Sir! No one ever admits what they really have, Sir," she said as she came back to attention.