Lorik (The Lorik Trilogy) (3 page)

Traveling overland through the marshes was difficult for those who knew the way, and almost always impossible for those who didn’t. As long as the tax was paid to the Earl on time, the Marshlands were left to fend for themselves. This made Hassell Point especially attractive to those with occupations that put them on the wrong side of the King’s law. There were inns, taverns, gaming houses, bath houses, and bordellos all along the waterfront. There was one main street, paved with bricks made from marsh mud, that ran around the harbor on the landward side of the waterfront establishments. The town wrapped around the harbor so that it was shaped like a horseshoe. On the landward side of the main street were craftsmen: leather workers, tailors, blacksmiths, and bakers. There was of course a fishmonger, although eels made up most of his trade. There were warehouses to store goods that weren’t ready for market, mostly stolen goods, but occasionally there were legitimate wares. There was one church, but the priest had died, and now the small building was being used by Marsdyn and the other Riders.

The church was divided into two sections. What had once been the gathering place for worshipers was now a stable for the Riders’ horses. The other half of the building had been a dormitory for priests and missionaries, but now it served as the living quarters and gathering place of the Riders. Marsdyn waited while Stone untied his horse from the post in front of the tavern. The animal was covered in mud all the way to its withers.

“Looks like you came through the marshes,” Marsdyn said.

“Is it that obvious?” Stone said.

“Looks like you were in a hurry, too.”

“I might have been,” Stone said. “Would it make a difference if I was?”

“Not to me it wouldn’t. Of course, if you made it through, others might think they can do it, too.”

“I doubt it,” Stone said. “I find most of the Earl’s troops are easily put off by hardship.”

“The Earl’s men, eh?”

Stone didn’t reply. He felt he had given the local gang leader enough information. The Riders were really just a band of thieves who had learned to extort the locals rather than steal goods that they would have to resell. All the local craftsmen and farmers paid the Riders protection money, either in coin or in trade. The establishments along the waterfront had their own bouncers and guards, although they would sometimes hire the Riders if they were short on manpower.

The sailors and pirates who passed through Hassell Point understood the way things worked. There was no law other than the Riders. Marsdyn had enough men that he could enforce whatever rules he decided to impose. It was predictable system. The Riders frequented the local taverns, inns, and cafes. They knew who was in the harbor or in the town at all times. They made rounds through the waterfront establishments, too, but never stayed too long. They preferred to drink where they were known and respected.

“How long you planning on sticking around?” Marsdyn asked as they approached the old church.

“Not sure,” Stone said. “I’m not much of a planner.”

“I understand,” said Marsdyn, leading Stone into the makeshift stable. “There’s nothing like the freedom of living day to day. I respect that.”

Stone had been studying the outlaw leader as they walked along. Marsdyn was tall, with broad shoulders and a slightly protruding gut. He was an older man, well into his forties, in a part of the world where living past fifty was rare. The Marshlands were hostile to those who didn’t know and respect the land. Disease often killed people in their prime years. The water wasn’t clean to drink in most places, and mosquitoes bred in the stagnant waters.

Still, Marsdyn was obviously a deadly man, even though he was getting older. He had sharp eyes that seemed to take in everything around him. He had big, bony hands, and despite his age, he moved with the grace and veiled power of a big cat. He wore the vest and riding pants just like the other Riders in his gang, but he also wore a golden torc around his neck. His arms were bare, revealing thick muscle and crooked, swollen veins that ran up and down his arms. His sash was made of silk from Osla, and he kept his long hair tied back in a thick braid. His beard was trimmed so that it stood out from his chin and angled back toward his jaws, where it was cut shorter.

“Come on over and have a look around,” Marsdyn said, after Stone had his horse settled into one of the stalls.

The old church dormitory looked like a tavern. There was a short bar at one end of the room. Several men in their riding vests were asleep on some of the furniture. There was a long wooden table that occupied one side of the long room, and groups of padded chairs took up the other half. There were women sleeping beside the Riders. Most were obviously wenches, their scant clothing revealing more than it covered.

“Some of us keep long hours,” Marsdyn said, waving to the men in the room. “We’re the last free people in the Five Kingdoms. We don’t bow down to some lord or king. We do what we want, when we want. We live each day to the fullest. How about a drink?”

“Sure,” Stone said.

Marsdyn went over the bar and pulled out a ceramic jug, sealed with a plug of soft wax. He pulled out the wax and poured two fist-sized cups of saka.

“This is the good stuff,” he said, raising his cup.

Stone watched his host drink the strong rice liquor. Then he took a sniff of the astringent brew. The aroma burned his nose, but he tipped back the cup and swallowed as quickly as possible. The drink burned its way down to his stomach and then spread its heat through his arms and legs.

“Nice, eh?” Marsdyn asked.

“Not bad,” Stone said.

“Stone... That's an interesting name. Where you’d get it?”

“The old man that raised me. He said I had a head like a rock. The name just stuck.”

Marsdyn nodded and carried the jug over to a group of furniture where there was only one woman sleeping. He used his boot to push her off the padded chair.

“What?” she said, not sure what was happening.

“Why don’t you make yourself useful and let everyone know I want them here?” Marsdyn said.

“Okay,” she agreed, tugging at her wrinkled tunic to see that she was covered adequately before getting up.

“Have a seat,” Marsdyn said to Stone, gesturing to an empty chair. “Care for a refill?”

“Not yet,” Stone said, as he studied his surroundings.

“I have to admit, you showed some skill in the tavern. You didn’t even break any furniture.”

“I was expecting trouble, so I was ready to handle it.”

“You handle yourself well.”

Stone merely nodded in acknowledgement.

“Tell me what you’re doing in the Point.”

“I told you, I needed a place to lay low for a while.”

“You have me intrigued,” said Marsdyn. “I love a good story of lawlessness.”

Stone was in no mood to spin a yarn for the gang leader. He’d come to Hassell Point out of necessity, but that had been his plan all along. He was an outsider, and he knew that if he wanted to stay, he needed to find a place to belong. He just wasn’t sure that he wanted his place to be with a group of outlaws. He’d done what he had to do in the past, both to survive and to exact justice. Those deeds had led him outside of the law, but he had hopes of finding a legitimate place where his skills, other than killing people, could shine.

He was saved from having to answer when a big man with cold, dead eyes approached Marsdyn. He ignored Stone completely.

“We have a problem,” he said in monotone voice.

“Tell me,” Marsdyn said.

“A group of pirates are looking for your friend. A large group of pirates.”

“Is that a fact?”

“I’m sorry,” Stone said. “I don’t want to involve you in my troubles. I’ll leave.”

“Don’t be silly,” Marsdyn said. “It’s no trouble at all. In fact, if pirates are stirring up trouble in my town, I want to deal with it personally.”

“Wake up, you louts!” the big man shouted. He hurried over and kicked one of the sleeping men. “The boss needs you awake and sober.”

“Mert,” Marsdyn explained, referring to the big man with cold eyes, “has his uses. I believe in surrounding myself with useful men. But I’d rather not be here when your pirate friends catch up to you. They’ve been known to burn down a building or two. Sailors have no respect for personal property, as you might have guessed. Let’s go out for dinner.”

The women were left sleeping, some on the furniture, some on the floor. Most of the men were still drunk from the night before, but they didn’t complain. A few stumbled outside to vomit, and more than one poured water over their heads. Then they saddled their horses.

“I know a place,” Marsdyn said. “It’s got good food. And Grayson has some unfinished business with one of the locals there.”

“Dinner and a show,” Stone said quietly.

Marsdyn laughed a long, hearty laugh.

“That’s funny,” he said. “Dinner and a show, my sentiments exactly. The best way to spend an evening.”

Then he turned to the men gathering around him. “Let’s ride!” he shouted.

* * *

It was fully dark when Lorik said goodbye to Vera. They had spent more time talking than anything else. Vera always wanted to hear about his travels, about the people and places he had seen.

He left the tavern and went to a small inn that was used mostly by the locals. It wasn’t on the waterfront and did most of its business feeding people. Lorik enjoyed a meal of stewed vegetables and fresh bread. He drank mead and talked with the innkeeper, an older man named Chancy.

There was always plenty of town gossip, and the story of the stranger Lorik had seen in the tavern was making the rounds. Apparently the man had first visited one of the seafront inns, but after being accosted by three pirates, he left. The pirates had been vicious men, but the stranger named Stone—Lorik supplied the stranger’s name, which was a juicy bit of gossip in its own right—had beaten his attackers to a bloody pulp. Some of the townsfolk suspected that a gang of pirates were working up their courage to find the stranger. It was a reasonable theory, Lorik thought, especially if the pirates didn’t know that the stranger had fallen in with the Riders.

“It’ll mean trouble for that one, mark my words,” said Chancy. “It might spill over and get some innocent folk hurt, too.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” said Lorik. “He looks like he can handle himself. Did you see the way he wears his weapons?”

“Aye,” said Chancy, his years as a seaman showing up in his speech. “Those knives of his look deadly.”

“I’ve never seen anyone wear them low like that,” Lorik admitted.

“You think that’s to help when he’s riding?”

“I wouldn’t think so. I’ve seen plenty of men carrying knives and riding horses, but never low on their hips like that.”

The night passed peacefully enough at first, but soon a group of Riders came to the inn. They enjoyed taking what they wanted and never paying. It was part of the unspoken agreement that the gang had with the locals. Protection cost the townsfolk dearly.

Marsdyn was showing his newest recruit around. Of course, the stranger wasn’t yet a member. Lorik knew they would let him hang around awhile and continue to prove himself before they included him in their fold. Still, being seen with the Riders was enough for most of the people in Hassell Point to treat him with deference.

The Riders came into the inn and ordered beef, which was rare and expensive in the Marshlands. Some of the farmers had cows, mostly milk cows, but pigs and goats were more suited to the wet terrain. Occasionally a ship brought in cows, but they were few and far between, and the price was triple, sometimes even quadruple what it would be in most places. Chancy was the only innkeeper who kept beef on hand. He salted the meat down and stored it in large barrels.

Marsdyn and the stranger were accompanied by Grayson and another rider named Mert. Grayson was an assassin; some say he was trained by the Mezzlyn, but Lorik doubted that. He’d never heard of a Mezzlyn leaving his ranks, and he knew the man was a coward. Grayson may have been ruthless and efficient killing men in the shadows, but he avoided open conflict unless he was surrounded by his friends. Mert, on the other hand, was the one Rider who made Lorik nervous. He wasn’t as physically big as some of the other men in the gang. He was completely bald and always wore a scarf tied neatly over his scalp. His arms, chest, neck, and face were marked with old scars. He was joyless, his face sporting a perpetual scowl. In fact, the only time Lorik had ever seen him smile was when he was fighting. There were rumors about his viciousness, and Lorik was certain Mert had no qualms about killing.

They sat in the inn at one of the long tables drinking mead and talking loudly. The locals almost seemed to cower when the Riders were present. Marsdyn and the others ignored the townsfolk, all except for Grayson, who watched Lorik with a sour expression.

“That silver-hair has it in for you,” said Chancy in a hushed tone, after he had prepared dinner for the Riders. He settled back onto the bench beside Lorik and leaned back against the wall. They both enjoyed flat-leaf tobacco, hand rolled into thick cigars with an aromatic smoke. Lorik pulled two from inside his shirt and gave one to Chancy.

“Ah, you remembered!” the innkeeper said in an excited voice.