The Merchant and the Menace (42 page)

There was a moment of hesitation before Tepi spoke
again.

“Perhaps you’re correct, Master Rin,” Tepi offered
sweetly. “You are probably right.”

“I deal with the Grey Elves quite a bit and assure
you of their intentions,” said Manfir.

“Yes, well I do not and bow to your superior
experience,” came the trader’s hypnotic voice. “You’re a man of true power and
intellect. You see things more clearly than others.”

“Yes ... I uh...” stammered Manfir, “like to think
I ..uh”

“Grasp the situation,” offered Tepi’s voice
melodically. “You are in control. You are a master of fate. A man not to be
toyed with.”

“Yes ... that’s correct ..” mumbled Manfir.

The hair on the back of Kael’s neck stood on end.
He watched Granu’s face. The giant’s eyes narrowed and his expression turned
grim.

“However, you grow weary of your responsibilities.
You carry such a heavy burden,” continued the sickly sweet voice of Tepi.

“Yes,” came the soft reply.

“If only you might lay your burden down at
someone's feet. Let them carry it for awhile,” sang the voice. “Let someone
else decide, someone else worry. Wouldn’t it be nice to let someone else
relieve you of the burden, it’s so heavy?”

“Yes,” slurred Manfir.

Granu’s huge arm swept out and clasped Kael’s
collar. The giant ripped the boy from his feet and propelled him through the
grasses. The long, thin leaves whipped Kael’s face and he tried to protect
himself from their sharp edges. In an instant, Kael hovered in the air three
yards from the pair in the clearing. Manfir stood in front of Tepi with
shoulders slumped and head hung low. Tepi stood over the Zodrian prince looking
larger than Kael recalled. Granu burst from the grasses behind Kael and his
deep voice echoed in the clearing.

“I found the boy, he was lost in the field,” boomed
the giant.

Manfir’s head snapped up and he glared at Granu.
Tepi threw his cloak about himself and shrunk into it. The trader slid into the
night shadows back toward the main encampment.

“What in Avra’s name were you doing, Kael?” slurred
Manfir.

Kael shot a glance over his shoulder at the placid
face of Granu. The giant betrayed no emotion. Kael turned back to Manfir as
Granu set him upon his feet.

“I ... I heard something in the grasses, and went
to investigate,” stated Kael.

“Without letting anyone know! What were you
thinking?” snapped Manfir.

“I went in a short distance, but before I knew it,
the grasses were over my head and I lost my bearings,” pleaded Kael. “I
panicked. Then I saw Granu’s face looking down at me from above the field.”

Manfir’s eyes narrowed and he stared at the giant.
The Zodrian prince appeared exhausted.

“I’m in no position to command, but it might be
helpful if your Keltaran friend kept us informed of his whereabouts,” Manfir
whispered through clenched teeth.

“I held no time to inform you, Master Rin. My
search called for all of my attention. I noticed the boy step into the field
from across the clearing and knew it could come to no good. I focused on his
entry point and followed. If I reported to you, as a servant might a master, I
might skew my bearings and lose the boy. The grasses are like the waves of the
sea. One wisp of the wind and what was, is no more,” said Granu calmly.

Manfir eyed him suspiciously, then turned and
marched toward the encampment. Kael glanced at Granu and saw a grave expression
cross the man’s face. They followed Manfir into the camp.

Kael woke to the noise of Tepi rummaging in his
cart. The young man opened his eyes and noticed most of the group still wrapped
in their bedrolls. On the opposite side of the fire lay Granu. The giant’s big
frame rhythmically heaved up and down, but Kael was sure the giant’s eyes were
slightly open, watching Tepi. Flair quietly moved about the encampment trying hard
not to wake any of the men.

Kael rose and softly asked Flair if he required any
assistance. Soon, the two young men built the fire up and boiled a pot of water
for tea. Flair amazed Kael. The young ranch hand woke early and followed the
brook to a pool it formed about a half league from the encampment. The young
man hooked several nice trout and now sizzled them in a small pan over the
fire.

Shortly, the entire group roused themselves and
readied for departure. Tepi wandered over to the fire eyed the trout critically
and devoured half of the meal before returning to his cart.

The group doused the fire and started on their way
to Rindor, the river city.

“Master Tepi, I am sure you will find someone to
service your cart in the village of Ymril,” stated Ader abruptly.

“Ah... yes, that I can,” said Tepi. “When do you
anticipate our arrival there, good friend Rin?”

Manfir lifted his head and wearily looked at Tepi.

“Pardon,” said the Zodrian prince.

“I say when do you anticipate our arrival in Ymril?
“ smiled Tepi.

“Oh, uh I’m not sure. Uh Ymril is ...” mumbled
Manfir.

“We’ll not be going to Ymril,” cut in Ader decisively.
“We’ll push on through to Rindor.”

“Not to Ymril?” exclaimed Tepi. “Why, that makes no
sense. It’s the next town along the trade route. A warm bed and fresh food are
what we all need. Master Rin, surely you see the logic in that?”

“Uh, yes, that sounds satisfying. A warm bed,” said
Manfir.

“Of course, we’ll hear no more of this pushing
ourselves. It’s far too great a journey for one day. All the way to Rindor, the
old man talks nonsense!” laughed Tepi.

Ader’s eyes narrowed and he studied Tepi intently.

“Of course, if the Elves and their slave wish to
continue on. So be it,” continued Tepi sweetly. “Those outlanders must conduct
business with the crown. The rest of you merely rush to your deaths. Why
hurry?”

Kael felt the hairs on his neck tingle as they did
the night before. Ader’s mouth tightened and his eyes bore into the trader.

“Perhaps good man Tepi is correct...” stammered
Manfir.

Ader turned Tarader hard and faced the group. The
giant horse blocked their path. The old man rose high on the back of the mighty
stallion, towering above the other members of the party. The early morning sun
struck him full in the face and his grave expression stopped everyone in their
tracks.

“Ridiculous,” stated Ader firmly. “Rin. It’s time
for you to shake the cobwebs from your head. We will stick with our plan, and
this ... trader ... will leave us at the crossroads to Ymril. We travel on
today, hard. Rindor by nightfall is our goal and with Avra’s help we will make
it so!”

Manfir’s shock set him upright and rigid in the
saddle. His eyes were wide and fully alert. Ader’s jaw was set hard and his
gray eyes bore into the Zodrian prince.

“Of course, we’ll travel on as you say,” stated
Manfir. “There’s much to be done and scant time to manage it. My apologies.”

“Apologies accepted,” said Ader as he spun on Tepi.
“At the crossroads you will part with us. Until that time you will remember
that you are a guest in this traveling group. You will stop when we stop and go
where we go when commanded to do so. If you do not like these rules, be gone
with you now!”

Tepi shrunk into the seat of his rickety old wagon,
shifting the reins of his horse between his fingers. Ader spun his mount back
down the road and the horse trotted forward. The remainder of the group
hesitated, still in shock from Ader’s outburst. Kael looked about him wondering
what to do. His eyes met those of Granu. The giant stood in the road just
behind Kael’s mount smiling in deep satisfaction. He slapped Kael’s mare on the
rump sending her trotting after Ader. The rest of the group roused from their
shock and continued down the road.

They traveled for hours. Periodically, Manfir or
Ader called for a stop to rest, feed and water the horses. Ader took the lead
during this leg of the journey, talking to Manfir constantly. The Zodrian
prince became more alert after this encounter.

Tepi kept his cart to the back of the group and
tried to call as little attention to himself as possible. Kael noticed Tepi
distractedly talking to himself. The cart’s continual hiccup jostled the bald
man.

After hours on the road, the travelers came to a
fork. A crude sign was fashioned onto a post near the right hand road. The sign
simply read “To Ymril”. Ader reined in and looked over his shoulder at the
group.

“We made a good pace today. I do believe that if we
push on we’ll reach Rindor just after nightfall,” The old man paused. “Unless
there are any objections?”

All remained silent and Kael stole a glance at
Tepi. The trader sat in his cart covered in his robes, sweating profusely. He simply
stared at the reins.

“This is where we say goodbye to you, Master Tepi.
Ymril is not nearly so far down the right fork as our journey to Rindor. You
should arrive within the hour,” stated Ader.

The trader looked up and a wicked smile crossed his
face.

“Old man, you lead your compatriots to their death.
You think I’m an ignorant gypsy, wandering through these lands full of hate and
prejudice. You don’t know one grain of what I am. While you rot on the
foothills of the Scythtar, I’ll be raised far above all men!” snarled Tepi.

The trader raised his arm and his riding whip
mercilessly snapped on the back of his old nag. The horse lurched forward and
trotted down the road to Ymril as the red faced trader cackled. The old cart
rattled and shook as it bumped down the road.

“I sense Master Tepi will one day come to a bad
end,” stated Teeg.

“It’ll come none to soon for the rest of the world,”
added Eidyn.

Tarader once again headed north along the Northern
Trade Route. This time however, the group was able to improve their pace
without the straggling presence of the trader and his cart. Kael found the pace
refreshing. The breeze created by their trot cooled him slightly and the
concentration required in the saddle took his mind from the foreboding sense of
doom Tepi placed there. Conversation in the group started again. Even Flair
chanced a discussion on horsemanship with Eidyn. The loss of the trader lifted
a brooding cloud from the entire company.

The ride to Rindor took less time than Ader
suggested. The sun was near to setting as the group passed homesteads. Kael saw
small cottages and huts set here and there on rolling hilltops a half league
from the road. Goat pens and corrals were erected near the homes. The
occasional dog barked in the distance as the group trotted down the road. The
area reminded Kael of Kelky. Good people set in the middle of good land, just
trying to make a life for themselves. People unaware of the larger world about
them. People just happy to be left to themselves and the land they worked.

And why shouldn’t they? Why did things like war and
disease poke their heads into the happy lives of these people? Kael’s thoughts
wandered to images of his mother. She was so happy when she were alive. They
lived a simple life, and that’s all she ever wanted. If Kael knew then what he
knew now, would he have seen it differently? No, he was sure his mother, the
daughter of the most powerful man in Zodra, was content. They were just another
of these families, happy in their lives. Happy to be left to themselves and the
life they chose. Happy until she was taken from them. Now his brother was gone
as well.

“To each his own.” said Teeg riding close by Kael.

“Uh, pardon.” mumbled Kael, waking from his
reflection.

Teeg nodded to a small cottage in the distance. A
pigpen was set thirty yards from the home and a few cows roamed a nearby
hillock munching on grass. A large dog raced from under the porch and pulled up
on the next hilltop. Its bark was barely audible in the distance.

“I said ‘To each his own’,” restated Teeg.

“What do you mean?” asked Kael.

“All of us are born into our own situation, as it
were,” answered Teeg. “We all can’t choose who we are to be and how we want to
live.”

“Why not? Why can’t we decide to be and live a
certain way?” said Kael.

“Any number of reasons Kael. The first and foremost
being that our Creator may not want it that way. Another may be that the powers
of Chaos may want to intrude on your plans,” added Teeg. “What about the
desires and needs of others? They may not be evil, but their intents and
desires may conflict with yours.”

“Its not fair. People should be allowed to be left
out of it!” barked Kael.

“People cannot be left out of it, Kael. It’s about
everyone, not just some of them and some of us. There are those who pretend they
are not involved. They bury their heads and dismiss it all. Yet one day it
comes to you. One day you are called upon, sometimes in a small way, and
sometimes in a big way, but you are called. If you cannot meet the challenge,
you fail. The Creator makes it easy to follow him, Kael. Search your heart,
know what is right and act. That is all he requires,” said Teeg.