Search for Audric (26 page)

"I don't want to be evil," Jared declared, "but I cannot control what is inside me. It does what it wants. I want to cut it out of my body and cast it away."

"No," Gunnar shook his head. "You just saved a man's life, Jared. Think about that for a moment. For all of our skills, there was nothing the rest of us could have done to save Kerzi. If you did not have the Talent within you, that poor old man would have crawled all night only to die by our fire. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that the Talent resides within you."

"Thrilled?" echoed the lad. "Do you mean that?"

"I do," admitted the Arin prince. "Kerzi has become much like a second father to me. I would have mourned his death forever. There is nothing I would not give you for saving him. Do not look upon your Talent as a curse. It is a powerful blessing, but you must learn to control it."

"How can I do that?" asked Jared.

"I do not know," admitted Gunnar, "but I will promise you that together we will find out. I am already in search of a master of the Talent, and I will keep you with me until we find one. Together we will learn about the Talent within you, and you will learn to control it and use it for good purposes. Will you trust me in this?"

Jared looked up at Gunnar and smiled thinly. "I will try," he promised. "You are like a second father to me. I know that you will never hurt me, and I trust you."

"I don't know about being a father," chuckled Gunnar, "but maybe a big brother. There is only about five years between us."

"A brother then," smiled Jared.

Horst and Monte had helped Kerzi to his feet and helped him to dress in the clothes that Monte had donated to him. They brought him over to the fire and sat him down. Horst made him a cup of hot tea and Monte gave him a chunk of bread and a hunk of dried meat. The merchant devoured the food and sipped his tea as he listened to Gunnar and Jared talking. He smiled as they finished and Jared sat up.

"How do you feel?" Monte asked the merchant.

"Like I was run over by a wagon," the old man grumbled, but with a smile on his lips. "I don't know how to thank you, Jared, but I owe you my life."

"You owe me nothing, Kerzi," smiled the lad. "You helped me when I needed it. We must all help one another."

"That is exactly correct," interjected Gunnar. "We are all one here, and that is why I want to know who beat you, Kerzi."

The old man frowned and shook his head. "I know you too well, Gunnar. You will march into town and murder a bunch of people. You will probably get yourself killed in the process, and I am not going to have that on my conscience. I am alive and that is all that matters. I do not want to talk about it any more."

"Do not play the fool, Kerzi," scowled Gunnar. "Those people tried to kill you, and they did so for a reason. You know who they are, and they don't want you to live to tell anyone."

"And that is exactly why I will not tell anyone," Kerzi declared adamantly.

"You miss the point, Kerzi," Horst said softly. "You are alive, which means that you are threat to these people now. They will continue to try to kill you as long as you are alive. They will do so out of fear that you might tell someone."

"They are right," agreed Monte. "You will never be able to ride a wagon through Capri again without fear of being recognized."

"That doesn't matter," shrugged the old man. "I no longer have a wagon, nor the gold to buy the one I ordered. What they didn't steal, they destroyed."

"And you will leave them free to kill another innocent merchant?" asked Horst. "What they did to you is beyond anything that any civilized person can accept. I know that you are trying to protect Gunnar by keeping this information to yourself, but you are wrong in doing so."

"I don't think it is wrong," Kerzi said adamantly. "I am avoiding bloodshed. That is never wrong."

"Yes it is," argued Gunnar. "When a man sees evil and averts his eyes rather than get involved, he sanctions that evil and raises it to a level that makes it acceptable. I will never be such a man, and I don't think you are that type of person either. We can settle this one of two ways, Kerzi. Either you can tell me who your attackers were, or I will march into Goodland and demand to know, and I won't leave until I find out."

"You would be throwing your life away," scowled Kerzi, "and what would you accomplish? I'll tell you. You would accomplish nothing because that whole town is a den of thieves. Just about every one of them would cut your throat just as soon as talk to you. You go ahead and march into Goodland. They will tell you nothing, and you will end up leaving. That's better in my eyes than your dying for something that is already over."

"I told you yesterday, old man," retorted Gunnar. "I always keep my promises. If I said I would stay there until I found out who attacked you then that is what I will do."

"And he won't do it alone," interjected Horst.

"I agree," nodded Monte, "and I know that Talot would also agree."

"You are all crazy," cried Kerzi. "I should have died in Goodland, and this would all be over with and forgotten."

"Who did it?" pressed Gunnar. "Tell me. I will not let them do it to another innocent merchant."

Kerzi stared at Gunnar, and tears poured down his cheeks. Gunnar wanted to run to the old man and hug him, but he refused to let Kerzi stonewall him on the identity of his attackers. He stared at the merchant and waited for an answer.

"They did not kill me," Kerzi said softly. "They tried, and they came close, but they didn't kill me. If I tell you who they are, I want you to promise not to kill them. If you cannot promise that, I will tell you nothing."

Gunnar gritted his teeth in frustration, but he knew that he had pushed Kerzi as far as the old man would go. Slowly, he nodded his head.

"I will not kill them," promised the Arin prince, "unless they try to kill one of us. That is as fair as I can be."

Kerzi nodded in acceptance and looked to Horst to make the promise. Horst hesitated for several minutes. The Odessian was not a bloodthirsty man, but he hated to go into battle with such a restriction. Sometimes it was wiser to kill before being killed. To arbitrarily wait for them to strike first was asking for trouble. Finally, the Odessia prince nodded.

"I agree to your terms," he said softly.

"Monte?" asked the merchant.

"I agree," the Caroomite said quickly. "I will relieve Talot so he may deliver his promise."

Monte slid into the trees, and Talot soon appeared.

"I will follow Gunnar's lead," stated the Lomite giant. "His word is my word."

Kerzi looked at Jared, and Gunnar shook his head vigorously.

"The lad stays with you," Gunnar declared. "Just the four of us will go to town. Tell us what we need to know."

"The leader is a big man," Kerzi sighed. "He is called Babul, and his assistant is a weasel named Alan. There were about a dozen of them, Gunnar. Now that you know, I beg you to let it be. Let's just move on."

"I will keep the promise that I have given to you, Kerzi," declared the Arin prince, "but I truly hope that Babul tries to kill me."

The four warriors rode into Goodland and dismounted before they came to the broad avenue where the merchants hired their warriors. They walked through an alleyway and came out across the street from the tavern. Three merchant wagons were already lined up along the broad avenue, but the contest was still some time away. The merchants stood lazily talking amongst themselves as they waited for more wagons to arrive.

Gunnar walked over to the pile of staffs resting against the inn and picked one up. He left Horst, Talot, and Monte leaning against the wall of the inn and stepped into the street where a large bell hung from a post. He took the staff and slammed it into the bell causing a loud peal to shatter the silence. Men came running out of the tavern, pushing and shoving those in front of them. Gunnar waited patiently in the street for the crowd to assemble. One of the last to leave the tavern was Babul. Alongside him was a shorter man with a rodent face.

The warriors gathered outside the tavern and looked around in confusion, but Babul's eyes focused on Gunnar. The Arin prince walked into the center of the street and spoke loudly.

"My name is Gunnar," called the Arin prince, "and I have a job available."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Gunnar knew that he had their attention.

"I need a thief and a despicable bully who beats old men with the intent to kill them," shouted Gunnar. "This man must be of the caliber to resort to robbery within the town of Goodland, and he must be the sort to require a dozen additional warriors for the beating so that he doesn't get hurt himself. The job pays in spent blood and bruises."

Many of the assembled warriors were laughing, thinking the whole thing was a joke, but Babul's face reddened with rage.

"Who wants to send forth Babul, the old-man killer?" shouted Gunnar.

A hush fell over the crowd as they realized a challenge was being issued, and there was no joke to be had. Many of the men glared at Babul, but others shook their head in disbelief.

"Stifle your tongue, Gunnar from up north," shouted Babul. "One does not go around spouting such sick jokes."

"This is no joke, Babul," glared Gunnar, "and you know it. Kerzi crawled on bloody knees all night to reach my campsite. It is only a miracle that he did not die, a miracle for him, but a tragedy for you, Alan, and the rest of your gang. I grew very fond of Kerzi on the journey we recently shared, and it took a great deal of effort to promise him that I would not kill you today. Let me warn you up front. I promised the old man that I would not kill you unless you tried to kill me, but I am going to beat you so hard that you might wish you were dead. Get out here and take what you have coming."

  The crowd grew boisterous, and although Babul tried to shrink back into the crowd, he was propelled into the street. Alan came tumbling after him as someone shoved the mousy man forward. The warriors in Goodland were a thieving bunch, but even they had standards, and killing a merchant in town was not allowed. Babul turned and looked back at the glaring crowd. He knew that he could not avoid the fight, so he whistled loudly, and ten men shoved their way through the crowd and stood beside their leader.

"You picked the wrong way to go about this, Gunnar," snarled Babul as he nodded to his group of warriors. "You may have promised the old man not to kill me, but I have no such qualms."

Gunnar stripped off his sword and placed it on the ground. He walked to the stack of staffs and began throwing them into the street until he had delivered twelve of them to his opponents.

"Remove your weapons," instructed Gunnar. "We fight with staffs only. If you touch a weapon, you die."

"You going to kill all twelve of us?" laughed Babul.

Gunnar smiled thinly and waved his friends forward. Horst, Talot, and Monte walked into the street and laid their weapons on the ground. They grabbed staffs and flanked the Arin prince.

"Not kill," smiled Gunnar, "not unless you invite me to it by keeping your weapons. I would prefer that, but I do keep my promises. It is your choice."

One of Babul's men in the rear of the group had a bow, and he took an arrow and nocked it. A spectator stepped forward and knocked the bow and arrow out of his hands.

"You either fight with swords to the death," snarled the spectator, "or you fight with staffs."

The crowd roared its approval, and Babul looked around nervously. He was a capable fighter, but he didn't believe in fair fights. As he looked at the crowd in front of the tavern, his eyes rose skyward, and he saw two of his men on the roof with their bows. That was what he had been waiting for. He grinned broadly and nodded.

"Drop your weapons," ordered Babul. "There are only four of them."

The men put their swords and bows on the ground and picked up the staffs. The twelve men moved forward and spread out in arc.

"Three apiece," Horst said softly. "Spread out and concentrate on your three only. Strike to immobilize the weakest first so there are fewer opponents. If you get into trouble shout it out."

Gunnar and his three friends spread out as they walked forward. Gunnar and Talot took the center. Horst moved to the right of Gunnar, and Monte moved to Talot's left.

"You start on the very end of their line," Talot whispered to Monte. "I can handle more than three."

"Thanks," Monte replied nervously. "I have never done this before."

"Then you are a courageous man," smiled the giant.

The two opposing groups stopped in the middle of the broad avenue about ten paces apart. Babul mumbled something unintelligible and his men rushed forward. The bandit leader purposely lagged a step behind so he would be able to mop up after his men had inflicted their damage.

"Backstabbing time," Horst called to Gunnar as he suddenly jumped far to his right.

The three opponents of Horst had to turn to their left to attack the Odessian. Gunnar suddenly dove to his right and came up behind the men attacking Horst. Together the two princes lashed out from in front and behind the three men. Gunnar slammed his staff into one man's legs, causing him to stumble into the man next to him. The Arin prince immediately turned around to confront his original opponents as Horst slammed his staff into the head of his remaining opponent.

"Join me when you can," Gunnar shouted to his friend as he began to defend against the two men preceding Babul.

On the other side of Gunnar, Talot held his staff in the middle. He stood as if waiting for the approaching enemy to come to him, but with a sudden burst of speed, he surged forward working his staff up and down to deflect the staffs of two of his opponents. He held the staff parallel to the ground and powered into the two men, carrying them past the approaching line. He dumped them to the ground and hit each with a sharp rap to the head.

Two of the enemy turned to attack Talot. The giant let his staff slide through his hands until he gripped the very end of it. He leaned forward and shoved the end of the staff into one opponent's gut and immediately spun to his left bringing the staff around to smash into the side of the second man. The first man doubled over and sank to his knees, while the second howled in pain, letting his staff fall from his hands. Talot swung his staff low and took the legs out from under the second man while kicking the man on his knees in the head.

Monte knew that he was gripping his staff too tightly. He gritted his teeth and loosened his grip slightly. He saw Talot race forward, carrying two men with him. When two more of the opponents turned to attack the giant, Monte's confidence grew. Of the two men still charging the Caroomite, the tall one swung his staff at Monte. Monte blocked the swing and pivoted away so that the tall man was blocking the short one. The short man tried to swing at Monte, but ended up hitting his own partner, as the archer danced away. Monte immediately counterattacked, striking the tall man in the side of the head with the end of his staff. The man's eyes rolled in his head, and his tall body toppled to the ground. The short man leaped out of the way of the falling body. He avoided the collision, but he left himself open to Monte's staff, which struck him in the chest. The man's staff fell from his hands as he staggered backwards. With Monte and Talot closing in on him, the short man turned and ran.

In the center of the battle, Gunnar turned away from helping Horst. Alan and another man charged towards him while Babul stayed a few steps behind. Gunnar accepted a weak hit on his shoulder from Alan in order to skewer his other opponent by shoving the end of his staff into the man's stomach. The man doubled over and Gunnar stepped back and snapped the end of the staff upwards, connecting with the man's chin. The Arin prince immediately spun bringing his staff around in a sweeping arc. The staff slammed into Alan's legs, and the mousy man crashed to the street.

Suddenly, a bowstring snapped, and an arrow soared through the air. Gunnar was vaguely aware of a distant scream, but he raised his staff to block a blow from Babul. Another bow snap and another scream invaded his concentration as he slapped Babul's arm with the end of his staff. Babul countered with a low swing as shouts of outrage filled the air from the direction of the tavern. Gunnar leaped high above the sweep of Babul's staff, bringing his own staff down on the man's shoulder. The hit was weak, but it disoriented the thief. Gunnar landed lightly on his feet and reversed his staff sending the force of it into Babul's stomach. The prince danced backwards a step and slammed the staff into the side of Babul's head.

The big man wobbled slightly, and Gunnar spun one more time. He whirled in a complete circle and slammed the staff into the other side of Babul's head. The staff shattered, and the big thief tumbled to the ground. He did not stir.

Gunnar looked around and saw that the fight was over. He looked towards the tavern and saw the crowd surrounding two bodies. Two smashed bows and dozens of arrows were scattered about on the ground before the bodies, and the picture suddenly became clear to the Arin prince, at least one side of the picture. Gunnar whirled and saw a man standing at the mouth of the alleyway, a bow in his hands with an arrow nocked. As Horst, Monte, and Talot hurried to pick up their weapons, the mystery archer turned and fled. Gunnar turned back towards the tavern and a hush had fallen over the crowd. He walked, weaponless, towards the crowd and stopped a few paces in front of them.

"Last night these men nearly killed Kerzi," Gunnar said loud enough for all to hear. "Now I know that Capri is a rather wild country, but what kind of men would allow such savagery to exist in their midst? Did any of you know the merchant Kerzi?"

A few men mumbled affirmatively and a few more nodded, but the crowd was subdued.

"I only met Kerzi a few months ago," Gunnar continued, "so I may not have known him as long as some of you, but there is nothing to hate in that man."

"You got the ones that did it," interrupted one of the spectators. "Why are you yelling at us?"

"I am not yelling at you," Gunnar replied calmly. "I am truly trying to understand you. While these men," he waved his hand towards the wounded men in the street, "carried out the attack, the merchant had to crawl through this town and along the road. I know enough to realize that some of you must have witnessed that poor old man crawling for help. I am not going to try to guess which among you failed to help. In fact, I truly do not want to know. I am talking to you only to make you think about it, to search inside yourself and ask what kind of man you have become when you can casually watch an innocent man bleed to death."

Gunnar turned to leave and felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. He turned around to see a hawk-nosed man standing slightly in front of the rest of the crowd.

"Some of us have already dwelt upon that," the man said softly. "Kerzi was the cheapest merchant that ever rode through Goodland, but he always had a smile for anyone who needed it, and he never bad-mouthed anyone. Babul and his boys will never be welcome in Goodland again. You can be assured of that."

"I think that is wise of you," Gunnar smiled thinly and started to leave when a thought popped into his mind. "Do you know where Kerzi's horses are?"

"Probably at the stables at the end of the street," the man answered. "Is he going to live?"

"I hope so," answered the Arin prince. "I understand his wagon was destroyed, but the least I can do is return his horses and gold to him."

"Babul will have the gold tucked under his tunic," offered the man. "He wouldn't trust anyone else to hold it, not even that weasel Alan."

"Thank you," smiled Gunnar.

Gunnar turned and walked across the street to his friends. He picked up his weapons and strapped them on.

"Monte," Gunnar said, "at the end of the street are the stables where Kerzi's horses are kept. Go get them. We are taking them with us."

Gunnar rolled Babul's body over and cut the man's tunic to reach the pouch hidden beneath it. The bandit leader's eyes opened, and he groaned. Gunnar put his face close to Babul's, and the bandit's eyes widened in fear.

"You cheated, Babul," Gunnar said softly. "That gives me the right to kill you and not break my promise to the old man."

"Don't kill me," pleaded Babul. "Take the gold. Take whatever you want, but don't kill me."

Talot placed a firm hand on Gunnar's shoulder, but the Arin prince shook it off.

"I will think about it, Babul," Gunnar responded. "I may not make a decision today, or tomorrow, but my mind will be made up by the next time we meet."

"I will make sure to stay out of your way," promised the bandit.

"That would be wise," winked the Arin prince. "I would have no reason to go searching for you unless I hear stories of your brutality again. Be good."

Gunnar did not wait for a response. He rose and walked swiftly away as if he didn't dare stay close to Babul a moment longer. The warriors retreated through the alleyway and Horst bent to study the tracks made by the archer who had fled.

"What do you see?" asked Gunnar.

"An Odessian beauty," answered Horst.