Kethril (11 page)

“What are you doing, dearest?” Vevin asked
apprehensively. “I know you’re feeling better, but there’s no need
to be gathering magic like that.”

She jumped in surprise. He was walking right
next to her while holding her hand. Liselle blushed and shook off
the energy tickling her skin. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s alright, but you should always know
what you’re doing before gathering magic. Make sure you have a
specific purpose and that you’re focusing it properly.” Vevin
smiled as he gently chastised her. “Do you know what you were going
to do? It didn’t look focused.”

“I . . .” Liselle felt like she was in
trouble. “It’s not important. I’ll be more careful and always focus
in the future.” She gave him a winning smile and hugged his arm,
hoping it would keep him from pressing.

“. . . Alright.” Vevin didn’t look at all
certain about it, but he let it go.

Farms were more numerous the closer they got
to Neveel. Peasants began to appear, heading to and from the city,
many with carts. Their clothes were simple, some well made, others
shoddy and all dirty from the road to a greater or lesser degree.
Many stood to the side of the road to let the companions pass. A
few even ran and hid. It was alarming to Liselle to see such a
reaction and she wondered how anyone could treat them so bad as to
make them run at the very sight of adventurers. Occasionally,
children hid behind their parents while looking at the adventurers
in awe.

The party arrived at Neveel late in the
night. It was an unwalled city with buildings made mostly of wood.
Many of the businesses and inns had stone or brick for the first
floor and wood if there was a second floor. Lights shone through
heavy rain as the companions walked along the road leading up to
the city. Most of the children and working peasants were inside,
leaving only revelers and people out for a last drink to dash from
cover to cover in order to reach their destinations.

Muffled shouts and noises Liselle didn’t
recognize mixed with the steady trickle of rain hitting buildings
and puddles. A few wet dogs dodged people, lending their smell to
mud and soaked wood. Liselle and Anilyia worked hard not to get
their feet stuck, jealous of how each of the boys seemed to have a
technique to avoid sinking with each step.

A stone guardhouse was to the right of the
road with a small squad of four soldiers wearing blue-dyed leather
armor standing underneath curved wooden canopies. Upon seeing the
party approach, they put their hands on sword hilts. The leader of
the squad stepped forward into the rain with his hand up. He had
brown hair that was beginning to turn grey and he walked with a
mild limp. Liselle figured he was probably a sergeant.

Tathan had told her the basics of city
guards and armies. Privates were the guys who did all the work and
dying. Sergeants and corporals yelled at the privates to get them
to work and die, low-level officers like majors and captains told
the troops how wonderful it was to work and die, high ranking
officers like generals and colonels came up with plans that got
everyone killed, and nobody liked lieutenants because they were
useless. It seemed ridiculous to Liselle, although she suspected
Tathan was probably biased considering he liked to steal
things.

“Hello there, adventurers. I’m Sergeant
Hyvan. What’s your business in Neveel?” The sergeant addressed Sir
Danth, assuming he was the leader of the group.

The knight went with it instead of waiting
for Tathan who had taken to walking in the back with Anilyia.
“Greetings to you, Sergeant Hyvan. I am Sir Danth Wazmordin of the
Black Order of the Knights of Morhain.” His voice boomed through
the rain. The soldiers stood a little straighter in surprise and a
few nearby revelers stopped in their tracks to see who was talking.
“It is our intention to stay at one of your inns for the next few
nights. After that, we will merrily be about our way.” He leaned
forward conspiratorially. “It is best to do things merrily you
know.”

“Uh-huh.” The sergeant stared at him, not
knowing what else to say. The rest of the guards looked nervous
while the revelers decided it would be best to get about reveling
before things got out of hand. Sergeant Hyvan cleared his throat
and restored his composure. “I’ve never heard of you, but let me
make it clear that there is to be no trouble. The Kethril army
guards Neveel well. We don’t fool around when it comes to
adventurers causing trouble. Military wizards support the troops
and can handle anything. Is that clear?”

“That is very clear, my good sergeant,” Sir
Danth said. “We will cause no trouble . . . probably.”

The sergeant set his jaw in irritation and
ran fingers through his hair. Sir Danth didn’t say anything else.
Liselle thought adding the ‘probably’ at the end was wise. It was
so hard to tell what could to happen. Sergeant Hyvan waved them on
their way before going back to stand under the canopy.

“Well handled, Sir Danth,” Tathan said from
behind Liselle. “Couldn’t have done it better myself.”

“Thank you. They were going to be suspicious
of us no matter how I responded,” the knight responded with a
shrug. “I don’t believe there will be any trouble, but guards have
to suspect everyone I suppose.”

“They suspect whether they have to or not,”
Tathan replied, shaking his head in disgust. “Let’s find an inn. I
want to get out of this miserable wetness. I can handle most rain,
but this stuff is dreary.”

“Dreary?” Sir Danth looked back with a
raised eyebrow. “What a very proper word for you to use.”

“Yeah, yeah. It looks like there’s an inn
ahead.” He pointed to a two level building with lanterns along the
front a few streets up. It was much bigger than the one they had
stayed at a few nights before, but not as large as the White Tree
Inn. There was a large sign in front with a blue pig that was
noticeable even from a distance.

“The Blue Pig Inn?” Derision was clear in
Anilyia’s voice. “How lovely.”

“It will be a bit rough for the ladies,
Master Tathan,” Sir Danth said. Men burst out of the front doors,
punching and kicking each other in a valiant effort to prove the
knight’s point.

“Fine. Ask someone for directions to
someplace better.” Tathan didn’t like spending any more money than
he had to, but was wise enough to avoid upsetting the women.

Sir Danth looked around, his gaze settling
on a nearby alley to their left. He held up a copper piece between
his thumb and forefinger, drawing out a dirty boy wearing a
tattered cloak. The boy was about ten and had a mature look in his
eyes. Liselle gasped when he turned to gaze at her. It seemed wrong
for someone so young to be so hard.

After assessing the group, he turned to the
knight. “Yeah? Whatcha want?”

“I want you to lead us to the best inn
Neveel has to offer.”

“Do it for a silver, but I aint goin’ in
this rain for nothin’ less.” The manner of his words grated on
Liselle’s ears. She had heard different accents while traveling
through Rojuun territory where there were people from every
culture, but this was different, not so much an accent as shoddy
speech.

“Very well. I will give you a silver when we
reach the inn.” Sir Danth made a silver piece appear where the
copper had been.

“Nah, I want it now or no go.” The boy
looked at the coin greedily.

“I assure you that I am much more likely to
keep a deal than you, lad.” The knight made the silver disappear.
“But, if you do not wish to make the deal, I understand.” Sir Danth
began walking up the street.

“I’ll do it! Come on,” the boy said, jogging
in front of the knight. He set a brisk pace and the companions
lengthened their stride to keep up. Some of the buildings had
covered wooden walkways, but not all. Those that did had crowds of
people who also wanted to stay out of the rain. The boy didn’t
waste time with those areas, instead taking them down the middle of
the road. In better weather, there might be wagons traveling about,
but they would just get stuck in the mud now.

Lanterns on building fronts were the primary
source of light. Most of the windows had leather coverings
preventing interior light from escaping with the heat. The end
result was darkness nearly as bad as the caverns she had tried
escaping after being kidnapped by Krraa. It made her
uncomfortable.

Liselle wondered why they didn’t cobble
their streets and add gutters like in Puujan. It would make things
so much easier for people. Her travel boots squished and squelched
their way along the muck. She understood that Vevin and Sir Danth
had magic to keep from getting messy, but it wasn’t fair that
Tathan was managing not to get stuck.

They turned up a street going north. After
fifteen minutes of slogging along, the boy pointed at another inn
with lanterns all around it. He held out his hand and Sir Danth
dropped the silver in it. The boy ran off in the direction he had
come.

The inn was three levels, the bottom two
were stone and the top was wood. There was a wooden walkway for its
guests and a large wooden sign out front with a picture of a golden
horse. Two guards wearing white tabards with gold embroidered
horses glanced at them and decided they were potential customers.
It bothered Liselle that regular people would be turned away while
those of means were allowed in.

“This is going to cost a fortune,” Tathan
mumbled when they walked in. He glanced at Anilyia, who had a
pleading look in her eyes. It was obvious she wanted something
resembling luxury even if it wasn’t a royal palace.

Liselle was weary from traveling in the
rain, but the inn excited her. Two lit fireplaces kept it warm
while people ate and chatted. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling on
chains and had polished brass brackets holding the candles.

Sir Danth led them to a counter next to some
stairs. The bar was on the other side of the common room so the
counter appeared to be where people went to rent a room. A
gentleman in fine clothing looked at the knight expectantly.

“My man will handle the arrangements,” Sir
Danth said with an arrogant air to his voice. He waved in the
direction of Tathan and then looked around the common room as
though disinterested in details.

Tathan lifted his chin and stepped past
Liselle to the counter. He took his gloves off with a flourish and
tucked them in his belt. Anilyia remained on his arm, but looked
supremely disinterested in the proceedings. No one noticed Liselle,
a fact that bothered her until Vevin whispered into her ear.
“They’re not paying attention to either of us. Feel free to stare
at people.”

“I have been informed that this is the best
Neveel has to offer,” Tathan said with a deep sigh. “I suppose it
will have to do. My lord cannot be expected to go back into that
miserable rain to rust.”

“I never rust, you fool,” Sir Danth replied
crossly, not turning around.

“Of course, Milord,” Tathan replied with a
bow and a flourish of his arm. He turned back to the innmaster and
rolled his eyes.

“Your eyes make a terrible racket when you
roll them around in your empty skull, you fool.” Sir Danth’s voice
lowered an octave, showing how unimpressed he was.

Tathan looked at him in surprise. “Of
course, Milord.”

The innmaster didn’t react to any of it, or
perhaps he was just too stiff to have a real expression, for when
he spoke, it was deliberate and stilted. “What sort of
accommodations will his lordship require this evening?”

“His lordship will require a suite for two
nights with three rooms, meals, baths, and wine,” Tathan answered.
“I’m certain that’s all the time he will be able to tolerate in
this inbred backwoods village.” Liselle gasped, though Vevin’s
influence prevented anyone from noticing. Anilyia nodded her head,
truly feeling that way. The innmaster’s only reaction to the words
was to raise an eyebrow. That single gesture said plenty about his
feelings. The jaw of a nearby bellhop briefly fell open before he
remembered he wasn’t supposed to react.

The innmaster looked in a ledger. “Of
course. There is a suite on the top floor facing the back court. It
will cost four gold pieces for the two nights.” Liselle was
surprised. The same size suite cost ten gold pieces for a night in
Alluu. Tathan had mentioned that things cost much more in Rojuun
territory than in human cities, but Liselle was sure Tathan would
have a fit about the cost anyway.

To her surprise, Tathan had the coins ready
and spread the four gold pieces out on the counter without blinking
an eye. They were uun, the coin made in great numbers by Rojuun. He
had mentioned wanting to use them in a city to see how people
reacted.

The bellhop forgot his place and leaned
forward. The innmaster put his hand forward to pick them up, but
stopped and looked closer. He touched one, running his hand over
the engraving, then picked it up and studied it for a moment. Sir
Danth turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem,
Innmaster?”

“What country is this from?” He raised the
coin.

“It is from a people called ‘Rojuun’. They
are odd, but the gold is good,” Sir Danth said, waving off any
concern.

The innmaster examined each one closely. He
took a different gold piece out of a container underneath the
counter and compared the weights in his hand. He rubbed the surface
of each coin and even bit into them to see if they were soft. “I’ve
seen a few of these coins in silver and copper. The gold is good
quality. In fact it’s better than Kethril’s coins.” He pushed one
back. “Three of these is sufficient to pay for the room. Keep the
other and speak of the honesty you receive at the Golden Steed Inn
during your travels.”

Sir Danth bowed while Tathan snatched up the
remaining gold piece. The innmaster gestured toward the bellhop.
“Geff will take your bags and show you to your room. Have your
horses or carriage been seen to?”