The Merchant and the Menace (55 page)

Kael noticed surprise enter the giant’s eyes and he
lightly bowed.

“Your story is one of personal hardship and
sacrifice,” continued Lucyn. “Avra calls upon all of us to forgo the easy path
and follow him up the steep road to the true riches of happiness. It is a
challenging journey, and for some it is much more difficult than for others.”

The queen lifted a goblet and raised it on high.

“May your endeavors to change this world be blessed
by the hand of Avra,” said the queen. “And may both enemy and friend alike
learn from your example of sacrifice and personal fortitude. In my house you
will be called friend.”

“Here! Here!” added Corad as he raised his glass.

The remainder of the group raised their goblets and
drank. Manfir looked as if the motion was painful, but he followed suit. Granu
bowed much more deeply to the lady across the table.

“I entered your household under duress,” stated
Granu raising his own goblet. “However, the eloquence of such a speech disarms
me. I accept your friendship and pledge mine in return.”

The entire group drank once more. Lucyn sat and the
men joined her. The meal carried on in idle chatter. Lucyn was anxious to know
all of Manfir’s whereabouts over the years. Corad entered a hushed conversation
with Ader over spiritual matters. Kael realized he was famished, and tried not
to embarrass himself by overfilling his plate.

The food was delicious. Egg soufflé, smoked ham and
poached river cat were laid out on trays before them. Kael tried a filet of
poached fish from another tray. The flavor was rich and earthy. At first, he
was unsure whether he liked it, but as it settled on his tongue he found it to
be excellent. Manfir looked up from his conversation with the queen.

“And how is the Urgron, Lord Kael?” asked Manfir
smiling.

Kael stuffed another large piece of the filet in
his mouth. His eyes went wide as he struggled to chew the piece and answer.
Lucyn laughed and held up a hand.

“No need to answer, Kael Brelgson,” laughed Lucyn.
“The fact that half the filet is in your mouth speaks more resolutely than you
are able at this moment.”

Kael turned a bright shade of red and slowed his
chewing.

“And what of you, Master Flair,” asked Corad. “I
see you are a man of expensive tastes.”

Flair smiled and raised another soft pastry to his
lips.

“The jelly in this pastry is fantastic. It is like
nothing I have ever eaten,” said Flair as he took a sizable bite out of the
pastry.

The center was filled with a black, oily substance
that dribbled down the youth’s chin. Slightly embarrassed, Flair grabbed a
napkin and wiped his chin as he munched on the pastry.

“Expensive indeed,” exclaimed Teeg as the boy
popped the last morsel in his mouth. “I have never seen a person eat eight
Urgron roe cakes at one sitting.”

Flair’s chewing stopped abruptly.

“Eight cakes you say?” added Manfir. “And every
last one of them filled with fish eggs. Extraordinary! Far too rich a meal for
my constitution.”

Flair’s mouth was stretched wide in mid chew. His
eyes widened and he quickly glanced around, lifting a napkin toward his face.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!” said Teeg wagging a finger at the
boy. “Decorum at all times, my good man. You are a guest in this house!”

Flair’s eyes bulged. Corad and Lucyn looked around
the table puzzled, as the rest of the group snickered. Flair chewed slowly,
then swallowed hard with a painful expression on his face. He slowly picked up
his full goblet and raised it above the table.

“To our gracious hosts,” whispered the boy and his
voice cracked.

“Here! Here!” shouted the rest of the men at the
table and they broke into a roar of laughter.

Flair drained the entire goblet.

After the meal, the company retired to their rooms
and made ready to depart. Ader, Manfir and Teeg held a private audience with
Corad and Lucyn. Assurances were made as to the speed at which the Rindoran
Spear could be formed and sent north, but many crucial roles in the city needed
to be temporarily manned. People must be trained. Supplies were required.
Horses commandeered.

Before long, Kael found himself leading his
chestnut through the crowded city streets. The group arrived at a gate similar
to the one on the south side of the river. A few soldiers stood near the gate,
but in the daytime it stood wide open and people came and went freely. A long,
timbered bridge identical to the bridge on the south side of the island
stretched from the mouth of the gate. Kael followed Eidyn and led his horse out
onto the bridge. As before, it neither swayed nor buckled.

“I don’t understand how the river affords Rindor
such protection,” said Kael, “if any army could merely march across these
bridges to their door.”

“Excellent observation, young man,” smiled Teeg.
“Exactly the type of observation the Rindoran generals hope an opposing
commander might make.“

“If it’s too good to be true, Kael,” said Manfir.
“Quite often it’s not true.”

“What do you mean?” asked Flair. “I agree with
Kael. You could roll several battering rams up to this tiny gate.”

Manfir halted and motioned the boys to the side of
the bridge. He pointed to the giant sturdy pilings that supported the structure.

“They look as strong as the granite foundations of
the castle,” stated Manfir.

Kael and Flair nodded in agreement.

“Now take a closer look. What do you see?” asked
Manfir.

Kael looked hard at the crisscrossing maze of
timber supports and pilings. It confused him, but he confidently believed he
could glean the meaning of the design. Support after support buttressed one
another to add to the strength of the bridge.

“What are those gears and cables for?” asked Flair.

Of course it was Flair who figured it out, thought
Kael. The lad possessed such a logical mind.

“If that gear turns, the timber it supports will
...” he paused as he pondered it, “... slide out and each timber above will
lose its support. This whole section of the bridge will collapse!”

Flair quickly grabbed the railing of the bridge and
looked back toward the safety of the island.

“Easy lad,” laughed Ader. “This bridge has stood as
it is for decades. The discovery of its secret by Master Flair of Kelky will
not send it crashing to the river’s bottom.”

The group moved across the bridge once more. Ader
slid in next to Kael and put a hand inside his cloak.

“Speaking of discoveries,” said the Seraph. “Please
try harder to keep this safe. I’m quite fond of this bit of handiwork, and it
just might save your life one day.”

Ader slid Kael’s dagger from beneath his cloak and
handed it over to the boy. Before Kael could comment, the Guide prodded Tarader
to the front of the procession. Kael clenched his teeth and glanced at Eidyn.
The exchange was not lost on the Elven prince. Eidyn frowned and shrugged his
shoulders.

As they stepped from the bridge onto solid ground,
Kael noticed a smile play across Manfir’s face. Manfir caught the boy looking.

“It’s nice to be home, Kael. I never consider
myself in Zodra until I cross north over the Ituan River,” said Manfir.

The group mounted and began a light trot along the
Northern Trade Route. The landscape contained marked differences between the
South and the North. The South was dry sparsely vegetated grassland of gullies
and washes. The North was a land of sharp plateaus overlooking leagues of gorse
bushes and tree groves. In the South the road followed some of the flatter wash
runs. Travelers circumvented the small hills by traveling around them. There
was no such opportunity in the North. Sometimes the group traveled along a
relatively flat stretch. Other times, the road halted at a tall ridgeline that
ran for several leagues in either direction. Usually, a path wide enough for
one rider was cut into the side of the plateau. The group traveled up these
paths in a single file line.

The frequent elevation changes along the road made
for a slow tedious journey. Kael broke up the monotony by taking in the scenery
around him. However, the scenery failed to relieve the boredom. The narrow
footing on the ridgeline paths made those stretches the most tedious. Kael was
sure of his chestnut’s agility, but the path never appeared substantial enough.

Periodically, Ader called for a halt. The air was
dry and water for the horses was scarce. Tarader never seemed to need any type
of sustenance, and Ader frequently wandered ahead of the group searching the
horizon while the others watered their mounts.

“He has much to think about,” commented Manfir to
Kael.

During one of these stops, Kael was the first to
water his mount at a small brook that ran near the road. Ader once again moved
ahead. This time however, Tarader munched on the soft, new growth of blackberry
bush. The horse lightly whinnied and swished flies with its tail. Kael moved
away from the brook to let the others refresh their horses. The Guide sat with
his back to Kael and the group. Ader looked unusually worn and tired. He was
hunched forward on the stallion’s back, barely moving.

Kael left his chestnut tethered to a nearby bush
and quietly approached the Seraph. As he closed within a couple of yards, Kael
realized Ader was not still at all. In fact, his hands were drawn in tightly to
his chest and worked feverishly. Understanding came to Kael. He mistook similar
movements by the Guide in the past. Ader did not fidget in the saddle in Quay
or Rindor. Ader communicated. He used his hands to convey a bounty of
information, just as the Guide communicated with Teeg at the court in Luxlor.
Kael looked in the direction Ader’s directed his hands. A thick grove of gorse
bush grew at Tarader’s feet and spread out into the surrounding country. The
movement of Kael’s head alerted the Guide. The hand motions stopped. Ader
cleared his throat and glanced at the boy.

 “Are you finished watering your mare, Kael?” asked
Ader.

“Yes, I tethered her. Are you feeling all right?”
replied Kael.

“Just fine. A bit tired. Happens to even me now and
again,” smiled Ader. “This terrain is rough on horse and rider alike. It is in
our best interests to halt early this evening. I should consult Manfir and
determine if there is a suitable place within striking distance.”

The Seraph turned his stallion back toward the
group and trotted away. Kael was left staring at the grove of gorse bush in
front of him. A cool breeze stirred the tops of the bushes like a wave upon the
water.

“Thank you for returning my blade,” whispered Kael
to the bushes, and he turned and walked away.

In the late afternoon, the troop made camp at the
base of a large bluff just off the road. Once again Eidyn offered to stand
guard for the group and once again Ader informed him that it was unnecessary.
Kael recognized the tension in the Elven prince’s face as Eidyn pursed his lips
and walked off to help Flair gather firewood. All save one in the group seemed
exhausted. Granu was unusually pleasant. His stern demeanor was melting away
and he hummed as he went about his business.

“I like this country,” Granu said offhandedly to
Teeg.

The comment elicited a withering glare from Manfir,
but no more was said. In the morning the group rose early and was quickly
underway. Plateau to drop-off. Drop-off to plateau. The tedious journey dragged
on. Finally, the group crested a large plateau and Kael felt a sense of relief.
A rolling expanse stretched out before them. Grassland populated with small
groves of trees pushed toward the horizon. Kael searched their path ahead and
saw neither plateau nor drop-off. At last they could simply meander over
rolling hills.

Manfir led them for over an hour. Suddenly, Eidyn
pointed to the left of the road. Wisps of dust rose above the horizon.

“Manfir! Riders bear down on us from the West. They
are still a few leagues off,” shouted Eidyn.