"The lead merchant, used to being pandered to and obeyed, demanded to know the meaning of this. The Town Leader told him the young women were here to identify the fathers of their children so they could be wed.
"Still not understanding the grave peril they faced, the Lead Merchant proclaimed it all nonsense. His men had paid the women a fair sum for their favors. If they were not smart enough to prevent the condition, it was their own fault.
"The Town Leader handed a leather sack to the lead merchant. It contained thirty-eight coppers gathered from the young women. The Town Leader casually lifted a plain, white linen shawl from one of the display tables. He asked how many coppers it would take to purchase the shawl.
"Immediately, the merchant felt more on his footing. They were bargaining. This he understood. He looked in the sack and explained that coppers were of little value. He hefted the sack and said it would take several such sacks to equal a single gold coin. It would take six gold coins to purchase the shawl.
"Confusion clouded the merchant’s face as the crowd began to boil in anger. Murmurs rose to calls for whipping the merchant.
"The Town Leader held up a hand to silence the crowd.
"When silence returned, he informed the Lead Merchant the sack contained the total price paid for the favors of nineteen young women. By his own admission, the Lead Merchant declared the coins worthless, hardly a fair price. The fathers would have to wed the women and remain in Ler Dan to help the town grow and prosper.
"The young women had selected their men. These were pulled from the group by soldiers to stand apart from the other outlanders. The Town Leader informed the Lead Merchant the rest were free to leave, but these men must remain to fulfill the duty they had contracted.
"This was too much for the Lead Merchant to bear. He represented the most powerful nation in the known world and was not about to be dictated to by the uncivilized people of a backward nation. At the top of his voice, he informed the crowd that, when he returned with fewer than half his crew, the Great Wizard would send a mighty army. These people would know the might of Allivan and they would suffer. Thousands would die for the sake of a few trollops.
"Most of his speech was lost on the crowd because his grasp of their language was limited and he constantly reverted to his native language. However, they understood the enormity of his threat.
"The nineteen grooms were herded to town to be wed. The rest of the merchants and crew were detained under guard while the town council debated their fate.
"No Sauwerdan knew how to sail such a mighty vessel so it was decided to release the ship untended to float away to its fate. The nineteen were wed and absorbed into the community. The others were taken to King Ballan in Riverford, the capital city of Sauwerdah. King Ballan listened to the Lead Merchant again explain the dire threat Allivan would pose to Sauwerdah when they failed to return. As a preventive measure, the king established the system of watches we encountered when we arrived."
CHAPTER 24
Crimson sunset bathed the woods in streaks of pink through ebon trees. Although the day had been warm enough to leave a glimmer of water on the ice covered road, temperatures descended with the sun. The horses breathed feathers of white steam in the twilight.
Ahead, a large pine with sloping branches would provide shelter.
"I think we’ve had enough travel for one day." Darius' mood had lightened with the account of Ler Dan’s rise from despair. "The horses need rest and I am in dire need of food."
Leena swung her leg over the rear of her horse, but when it touched ground it refused to hold her weight. She clutched the saddle to remain upright. Her legs felt as if they were pricked by thousands of small needles and her tailbone burned.
She saw Darius turn his head away, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hide a chuckle. When he turned back there was a forced look of seriousness on his face.
"Riding like a man can be difficult at first, My Lady, but you will quickly get used to it."
"Thank you for that information, your Ambassadorship."
Still holding the saddle with her right hand, she gave him a mocking bow. As she straightened, she reached into her tunic and pulled out her hedge witch wand. In a few seconds the soreness was gone and she felt refreshed.
They unsaddled their mounts and used burlap bags to rub lather from their backs and between the forelegs. While Darius scouted for firewood, Leena filled three bags with oats and hung them over the horses’ heads.
She turned to find Darius had cleared a space in the snow, laid a fire and was fruitlessly striking a flint against his dagger trying to get it lighted. He stood and went beneath the tree to gather more dry needles.
"The wood is wet. This may take a few minutes."
"Allow me." Again she drew the wand. Instantly the laid fire burst forth warm, bright and comforting.
"That is a neat trick. Someday you will have to teach it to me."
"I wish I could. However, since you were not born a hedge witch, I’m afraid I would have little luck."
"You're right. The price is too high. I think I prefer to stay a knight."
While Darius gathered firewood to last the night, Leena pulled two earthenware bowls from her pack, loaded them with oats and heaped fresh snow on them. She used her wand to boil the contents then added nuts and honey. They sat on soft pine needles under the tree and ate in silence, enjoying the moonrise.
With dinner complete, Leena felt content and sleepy. Darius watched her as she used clean snow to wash the bowls, repacked them, and moved the horses to the protection of the trees. She was reaching for blankets to make their pallets when Darius stood.
"It is time you learned to use that elvin blade."
"You have got to be kidding. It's late and I'm tired."
"That is precisely the point. You rarely need a blade when you are most prepared. The best time to train is when you are at your worst."
Darius first showed her how to hold a blade properly then showed her several simple exercises. In minutes, she was panting from exertion.
"Hmm," he said, "you have a bit of stamina, but not much strength. We will have to fix that."
He demonstrated several exercises using the blade.
"Every night you will perform these exercises and within weeks you will be as strong as a man."
"I hope I will remain smarter than one."
He left her to exercise while he retreated under the tree to lay their pallets. By the time she completed the exercise program, her shoulders, arms and chest were on fire. She could feel her muscles jump and twitch. She sheathed her sword and reached for her wand.
"I would not do that if I were you," his disembodied voice came from the cave beneath the tree. "Much of the building comes from the rest between exercise periods. If you take away the fatigue, you defeat the purpose."
"Is it okay if I lie down and sleep now? You don't want me to hack down a tree or anything do you?"
He was silent for a few seconds.
"No, I don’t think that will be necessary. You may sleep now."
Without thinking, she stooped, gathered a large handful of snow, crunched it to a ball and hurled it at the voice.
"Ouch!"
He was still chuckling as she curled on her pallet to sleep. As she drifted off she could not help noticing that, unlike Arvin, Darius had given each of them a blanket.
CHAPTER 25
Morning was bright, clear and warmer than the day before. Despite muscles still aching from her exercises, Leena felt rested and refreshed.
Patches of brown mud peeked through the packed ice surface of the road. At times, their horses’ hooves rose with the sucking sound of clutching muck. Around them, snowmelt dripped from trees. Large drops splattered on the shiny ice of the road. It sounded like a mild summer rainstorm. A perfume of wet dirt and fresh pine scented the air.
With the constant patter as a background, Darius resumed his tale.
"I now understood why the citizens of Sauwerdah were so terrified of us
, but what could I say or do to put the Sergeant at ease? Time was running short. I looked at the hourglass. More than half its sand had fallen. Soon runners would have to leave.
"Great wrongs had been done to these people and the lead merchant, with his blustering threats, had created a veil of fear I had to break through.
"Sergeant," I said, "we are not here to destroy you. There has been a huge misunderstanding. We need to talk to someone to try to straighten it out. What can we do to convince you we come in peace?
"The Sergeant just stared at me. After months of preparation, they were not willing to give up their fear so quickly.
"I asked them to put their arms down and instructed our men to sheathe their weapons. Several Sauwerdans were shivering in the cold sea air. I suggested we sit by the fire to talk. It seemed to relax them a bit.
"I was off to a slow start, but I was new to diplomacy and acting on instinct.
"I told the Sergeant we came from a land that used trade to establish friendships. Unfortunately, this time it did not work as planned. The merchants selected were not the right choice for this mission. We were here to correct any misunderstandings and set things right as much as possible. Any help he could provide would be greatly appreciated.
"I was warming to the role of diplomat, but I avoided looking at the Lieutenant. I could not begin to guess what was going through his mind as I said these things. I hoped he would stop me if I said anything out of line.
"The Sergeant pondered my words. I could not help noticing the sand rapidly running out.
"He asked if we would be willing to surrender our weapons and allow him to take us to King Ballan in Riverford?
"There was real hope in his eyes for the first time since we met. But what was I to do? It would take several days, maybe weeks to travel to Riverford by foot. Our ships would be certain we had been captured or killed. What would they do? Return to Allivan to gather an army to overrun Sauwerdah?
"I needed to buy time to think. Thoughts raced through my head as I pondered the question.
"Time ran out in the hourglass. Wolffang looked to the men that would be runners.
"I looked into his eyes trying to read whether there was some trick here and knew he was being honest. I don’t know how, but I knew I could trust him.
"Yes," I said, "send your runners. While we wait for the runners from the other two watches, we must work out some details.
"The runners left.
"I will go with you, but we have no way to contact our ships. Will you provide boats to take my men to explain what has happened here? You can send guards with them if you feel it necessary. I give you my word the guards will be safe.
"Sergeant Wolffang asked how I could guarantee their safety if I could not contact my ships.
"I told him the boats must fly white flags to show they come in peace. In our land, no one may harm another that flies a white flag.
"His expression lit as though a torch flared in his brain."
"He told us word had come up the line our ships attempted to invade Oliman flying white battle flags. That was why their archers fired flaming arrows. Shyly, in the name of Sauwerdah, he apologized for the misunderstanding.
"He and I agreed. I would accompany the Sergeant and some of his men to Riverford while boats would be brought to return our men, and a contingent of Sauwerdan soldiers, to the ship.
"On an impulse, I asked that Lileah be permitted to accompany us. The wretched soldiers looked at her with fear then looked at the man she healed. Grudgingly, the Sergeant agreed.
"At this time, runners arrived from the other watches. That meant the runners from here would be arriving at the next outposts. Within ten minutes, soldiers from those watches would be arriving.
"Now was time to talk to my Lieutenant. With a knot in my belly, I turned to him. He was smiling with relief. We stood and walked away from the fire for some privacy. At first, he had doubts about my ability to handle the situation. However, I had done better than he hoped. He told me he would talk to the Colonel and persuade him to give me a chance to find a diplomatic solution to this mess. If he could, he would persuade the Sauwerdans to let them dock in Ler Dan. They would meet us there when my mission was completed. He slapped me on the back and we turned to find the troops from the other watches arriving.
"Two dozen Sauwerdan soldiers accompanied us to our camp on the beach. There we slept and in the morning Lileah and I, unarmed and under the guard of Sergeant Wolffang and his men, left to talk to King Ballan while plans were made to return the others to our ships.
"On the trek, I learned the history of Sauwerdah as a sergeant in the army knew it. Mostly, it consisted of tales of battles long ago when the land was young and tribes fought for territory. Eventually, agreements and treaties ended wars and for hundreds of years peace was maintained. The army now acted primarily as a rarely needed police force. Occasionally, a group would decide banditry was less work than farming or trade and the army would see some action.
"The nation was a collection of independent city-states gathered under the loose control of a king. His primary responsibility is arbitrating disputes between city-states or now, in our case, negotiating peace with outlanders.
"In addition, I learned a translation spell is a wonderful way to learn a language. Much better than sitting hours at a tutor’s knee. Lackdal’s spell encompassed all the men in Sergeant Wolffang’s group so there was no problem communicating. The spell enabled us to hear words in the others' language but understand them in ours. By the time we reached Riverford, all could speak either language fluently.
"Riverford is a walled city with a great castle in the center surrounded by houses and shops. Through the front gate we passed into an open-air market. The place was alive with the calls of goats, pigs and chickens. These were augmented by strange calls from animals and fowl I had not seen before. After so long in fresh air, the smell of penned up animals was oppressive.
"Except the cries and bleats of beasts, the place was silent. Hundreds of people stood watching us enter and cross the square. We were almost halfway across when an elephant of a man burst from behind a booth and, in a jiggling attempt to run, waddled rapidly across the square to intercept us.
"It was the Lead Merchant bellowing that I was finally here to rescue him. After his first few words of thanks and praise, he started berating me for taking so long. Did I not understand how important he was? If I did not get him out of here immediately, I would have to answer to the Great Wizard himself. He wanted this situation settled this very day and these vagabonds taught a lesson they would not soon forget. I would, of course, immediately put myself under his command. He would tell me exactly how to punish these vermin for interfering with an ambassador of the Great Wizard or I would find myself imprisoned on our return to Allivan.
"I let him wind down then informed him he was to consider himself under arrest for violating his charter as a merchant envoy of the Great Wizard. Furthermore, he was to remain in Riverford until troops could be spared to take him to the Great Wizard’s castle to face charges.
"His face turned a bright scarlet as I spoke. Who was I to speak to him like this? He could see I was a knight without rank. In his mind, I was far beneath him on the social ladder. However, from my perspective he was little more than a common thief.
"His hands balled into large fists, but he knew better than to physically challenge a knight. Instead, he spewed a string of profanity that trailed us long after he was out of sight.
"Sergeant Wolffang was quiet and thoughtful as we left the square. After a while, he told me that, until now, he had some doubts about the purpose of my mission. The confrontation with the Lead Merchant laid them to rest. Now he felt comfortable taking me to King Ballan."
CHAPTER 26
"The castle within the city was surrounded by another high, crenellated wall. A squad of large, finely dressed and well-trained soldiers met us at the castle gate. I noted their scabbards housed steel swords sold by our Alliva
nian merchants. These were the King’s personal guards. They relieved the guards that brought us and told them where they could find food and quarters until they were needed.
"I asked that Sergeant Wolffang be allowed to accompany me because he had been involved in events from the beginning and his perspective could prove useful to the King. After a slight hesitation, the leader agreed.
"We crossed the castle courtyard. To our left were massive barns capable of housing enough beasts to feed an army during an extended campaign. To our right were barracks for soldiers and guards and dwellings for castle staff. A stream of fresh water passed through bars set in low openings in the walls to either side of us. The castle had been designed to allow it to withstand a siege indefinitely. I realized this must once have been an extremely warlike nation.
"We were escorted across an arched stone bridge over the stream and challenged by soldiers guarding two huge oak doors into the main castle building. From the level of security, it was obvious the castle was on war alert. Beyond the doors, a butler asked us to accompany him to the reception chamber.
"The entryway of the castle rivaled that of the Great Wizard's. On either side, wide stone stairways rose more than twenty feet in graceful arcs like upswept bird wings. Beneath the arch formed by the stairs was the entry to a grand ballroom.
"We were led to oaken doors at the top of the stairs. Silent, watchful guards opened the doors at our approach. We were led along a carpet through the column-lined room beyond. At the far end of the carpet, a short flight of stairs led to a platform with a large oak throne. King Ballan was seated waiting our approach.
"I have no way to describe that first meeting with the King. Have you ever met someone you feel you’ve known forever? At the first sight of King Ballan, I knew he was a friend I could trust. I could tell from his expression he felt the same. I had to remind myself there was protocol to be followed and not just call 'hi' to the king. I saw a glint of humor in his eyes that showed he was having the same response, as though we shared a secret.
"The butler introduced me as the Emissary of the Great Wizard of the Outlanders.