The Troven (Kingdom of Denall Book 1) (9 page)

The twins burst into laughter at Bendar's pronouncement. They were rolling on the ground uncontrollably. “Now he starts--” Farin began.

“--telling good stories.”Garin finished.

“Fine, do not believe me! But do not curse our entire trip by mentioning his name repeatedly,” Bendar yelled. The volume increased with each word he spoke.

Kaz interrupted. “Quit it! All of you! I think we can safely say this is a topic that we don't agree on. Let's just agree to not bring it up again. Can we at least do that?” The twins stopped laughing and Bendar took a deep breath. “Good, I'll take that as agreement.”

Despite everyone’s desire for sleep, they slowly moved around collecting fire wood, setting snares, and unpacking the food and sleeping supplies. After a short meal of some nuts, dried fruit and some jerky, Garin laid down on the ground on his back, squirming to find a comfortable position when Kaz’s necklace dug unto his shoulder.

“I almost forgot,” he began as he removed it and threw it over to Kaz. “Have a nice sleep with that thing on your neck.” He rolled over and fell happily into a deep sleep.

Chapter 7

The fire was dying down and the four boys slept soundly, recovering from two days of unusual physical exertion. Having two strong listeners in their group, they all rested, relying on Garin and Farin's enhanced hearing for protection. Although Kaz could see farther than either boy could hear, it did no good during a night like this when the moon's light was hidden by thickening clouds.

Kaz rubbed his eyes when he heard one of the boys roll over on the ground. Farin threw some small sticks on the fire, and a slightly larger log.

“Is something wrong?” Bendar asked sleepily.

“I thought I heard some dry grass crunching. Maybe a deer walking in the woods. It’s probably nothing,” Farin responded. “Hey seamstress, do you see anything out there?”

“What?” Kaz groaned from his sprawled position on the other side of the fire.

Garin sat up and rolled his head, stretching out his neck. Kaz saw the marks on his ears darken as he made an audio sweep of the surrounding area.

“Get up now!” Garin reached for the long bow and nocked an arrow.

“What is it?” Bendar asked as he scrambled to his feet and joined the other boys standing in a small circle with their backs to the fire. Each had a longbow in hand, and Farin had his sword strapped to his waist.

“What’s out there?” Kaz asked as he searched the darkness for any sign of movement.

“Drams,” Garin and Farin announced in unison.

“They must be very hungry to attack so close to the road,” Bendar observed. “When they get that hungry, they usually don’t stop their attack until they get some meat.”

“That’s not helpful,” Kaz said as he anxiously pulled on the bowstring. “I can only see to the first row of trees.”

“The rest of us can’t see anything at all. It’s so dark, we can’t see beyond the firelight. We need to seek shelter.” Bendar said, moving to the edge of the clearing. “Get up into the trees.” He began running for the closest tree.

“There,” Farin said, pointing out into the night. Kaz shot an arrow in the direction Farin pointed, but he heard it thud harmlessly into a tree. He nocked another arrow and waited while the other boys began scampering up some nearby trees. When the dram came into sight he drew his bow, and in a fluid motion released the arrow. The shaft protruded out of the animals head, a perfect kill shot.

“Get over here!” Farin beckoned. “Two more drams are coming.” Kaz turned and ran toward a tree where Farin was hiding. As he came close to the tree he could hear the deep, gruff pants of the large animals that were now in their camp. He pumped his arms for more speed, and at the last minute he threw his bow to the ground and jumped up, grabbing on the highest branch of the tree he could reach.

He wrapped his arms and legs around the branch, frantically trying to stay out of reach of the dram that was now underneath him. From a nearby tree an arrow flew and found its mark in the dram’s body. The creature howled out in pain, but continued to claw at the tree. With a massive lunge, the dram’s front paws reached Kaz and ripped open his left leg, throwing him down from the tree onto the ground. When he hit the ground, Kaz turned over, and covered his arms over his face as the dram approached. Trying to ignore the pain, he kicked out, hitting the dram in the snout. The creature howled out, then arched its back as it cautiously advanced. Kaz pushed against the ground until he backed into a tree.

“Take him down!” Garin yelled from up in the tree, and Kaz saw an arrow strike the dram. The powerful dram lunged forward but was stopped as Farin dropped down from the tree with his sword blade driving down into the creature’s torso.

Kaz looked out over the campfire and saw another dram charging into the camp. Bendar and Garin took it down with arrows before it was able to cross over to Kaz.

“Can you climb?” Farin asked as he grabbed Kaz under the shoulder and pushed him to standing.

Kaz nodded, and reached up to grab the branch of a tree. The pain from his legs throbbed as he pulled himself up, but he quickly fell back down again. He shook his head. “I can’t do it.”

Garin jumped down from a nearby tree, and ran to his side.

“Lift!” Kaz pulled up while Garin and Farin pushed him from underneath. His leg sent shooting pain all over his body as Farin threw his legs up over the first branch and then continued to push even harder, forcing him up higher into the branches.

“I’m up!” Kaz shouted down to the twins and they began climbing up to join him.

Bendar shot an arrow at another dram that was running through the camp toward Garin, giving him time to get up out of range.

With the arrow still lodged in its side, the dram scratched at the tree, and jumped up in the air, snapping its jaws at the boys who were just out of its range. Farin grabbed his bow and shot an arrow into the dram’s open mouth, sending it falling backward onto the ground.

Garin tore the sleeve off his shirt and wrapped it around Kaz’s leg. The material quickly soaked dark red.

“We need to get down to our supplies,” Garin called out to Bendar.

“We can’t do that with them down there,” Farin said pointing at the dram. “How many arrows do you have left?”

Bendar looked in his quiver quickly before calling back. “I have eight. How many do you have?”

“Three,” Farin called back, his voice filled with frustration. “I dropped the rest when I went down for Kaz. There are at least fifteen more drams in the pack. Even if we took one out with every arrow, we can’t kill them all.”

“And we can’t wait up in the trees all night. Kaz is losing too much blood,” Garin added.

“What if we kill this one, and make a run for more…” Kaz stopped talking as he saw some glowing eyes approaching the camp. More drams were congregating in the campsite, smelling blood and waiting for some meat. “Never mind.” Kaz dropped his head to the side and fell limp on the branch he was sitting on. Farin and Garin reached out and stabilized him.

“Wake up!” Garin encouraged. He pushed Kaz up to a sitting position. “You don’t want to lose this,” Garin joked as he shoved Gran’s necklace into Kaz’s shirt.

Kaz smiled weakly and forced himself up against the tree. He blinked several times, and tried to focus on his breathing.

“I think I’m okay,” he said. “What are we going to do?”

“We need to kill the alpha,” Bendar called out.

“What are you talking about?” Farin asked.

“The pack always follows their leader. We need to kill the leader first, then when we begin attacking the remaining drams they might disperse.”

“They might disperse?” Farin asked, “What if they don’t? Couldn’t we just kill all we can, and let them eat each other?”

“Until their leader is dead, they will not retreat. It’s our only hope,” Bendar replied.

“They’re all circling around randomly, which one is the leader?” Garin shouted.

Kaz watched the drams in the camp. Some were digging through their supplies, others were circling the base of the trees they were hiding in, and some were beginning to eat the dead drams, snapping at any other dram that tried to share in the feast.

“I don’t think the leader is here yet,” Bendar answered “Can either of you hear the sounds of one dram that is larger than the others?”

Garin and Farin looked at each other, then back at Bendar, tilting their heads in confusion.

“What do you think a larger dram sounds like?”

Kaz looked out into the night, and although his mind was foggy, he thought the moon was coming out, because he could see clearly out past the trees.

“I think I can see him,” Kaz said in a voice filled with pain. He pointed out into the darkness. “He’s right there; he’s circling around the others. Can you hit him from here?” Kaz asked Garin.

“I can’t even see him,” he answered.

“Are you serious?” Kaz asked, shaking his head to clear the fogginess. “Okay, give me the bow.” Kaz grunted as he twisted his body on the large tree limb. Kaz clenched his jaw and drew his bow, aiming out into the darkness. With a final grunt, Kaz released the bowstring and the arrow flew through the trees and found its target. Kaz slumped down and would have fallen out of the tree if Garin hadn’t caught him.

“I got him,” Kaz whispered to his friend.

Hearing Kaz’s announcement, Farin called out to Bendar. “The alpha is dead!”

“Take out as many as you can,” Bendar called back. He fired an arrow down at a dram that was rummaging through their packs, then aimed at another that was pawing at his tree. The injured drams winced, then ran away.

“They’re retreating,” Bendar shouted, “The leader must be dead.” Bendar kept loosing arrows at any dram that remained in their camping area until his quiver was empty and the site was relatively quiet.

“I’ll be right back,” Farin said to his brother. Without waiting for a reply, Farin climbed down the tree, retrieved his sword from the fallen dram, grabbed a handful of arrows, then put on Kaz’s travel pack. He quickly returned to the tree and handed up the arrows, then climbed up to sit next to Garin and Kaz.

Garin began rummaging through Kaz’s pack and pulled out Gran’s sewing kit.

“I’m glad someone thought to include a suture kit,” he commented as he pulled out Kaz’s water skin and began to clean the cuts on Kaz’s leg.

Kaz cringed, “Yeah, good thing.”

“Get some rope,” Garin said to his brother.

“To tie on the bandages?”

“No to tie us up in this tree, I don’t feel safe on the ground, not with those drams roaming around.”

Without argument, Farin climbed down again and quickly gathered some supplies. He also retrieved some food and water. Bendar joined him in the campsite, and filled up his quiver and supply sack. He threw some more wood on the fire for light before they both climbed back up into the tree for the night.

Chapter 8

On the cobblestone streets of Kinstock horse hooves clopped and boots fell as people went about their business. Through the wall, P could hear each person as they approached the inn, and could distinguish the softer footfalls as they passed into the distance. Some people slowed down as they passed the rented out room in the inn, but most kept walking at a consistent pace. As she listened to the people in the streets of Kinstock she kept her eyes on the people in the room with her, not sure who she could trust.

She was the first to arrive, and from her seat in the far back corner she watched each man as he entered. The loudest of the men were eight strongarms, mostly large men who moved slowly, and many of whom opened their mouths enough to show that they were not overly bright.

When a heavy set of footsteps approached their room, she raised her hand up and nodded to the level two intellect sitting at the front of the room.

“Looks like our tardy friend has arrived,” Dunkan said as he stood up at the front of the room ready for their meeting to start.

As he spoke, a tall, broad strongarm named Scar pushed open the door and entered.

“Sorry I'm late,” he said slowly, his thick accent a sure mark that he had been born outside of Denall. “When Flick told me where we were meeting I forgot how to spell ‘inn’, so I was lost outside for a while.” He grabbed a drink from the small serving table at the side of the room, and stood, slowly drinking it as if he didn’t notice that everyone was waiting for him.

Waving for Scar to sit down, and giving him a slight scowl, Dunkan began their meeting.

“Let’s get started, men,” Dunkan began.

Derft, a large, level two strongarm sitting on the front row interrupted, “Men? What about the skirt in the back?” he asked in a low voice, then turned around to look at her with an arrogant grin.

P hated men like him. The kind who ogled at her, then dismissed her usefulness at every opportunity. She considered walking to the front of the room and clobbering him right there, but decided to forgo his humiliation for now.

“First off, I never wear a skirt. Second, I'm a listener, so sitting up at the front and whispering isn't going to make a bit of difference.”

Derft continued to address Dunkan. “I don't like it. We need to know we can trust her, and I've never heard of her before.” Some others nodded in agreement.

Dunkan silenced the murmurs with a wave of his hand.

“She is a level four listener, she’s the highest level in this room, and she will not let us down. The fact that we haven't heard of her is a credit to her work. She’s been working Kinstock for several years. Any other objections?” With that said he looked over the group. Nobody voiced their concern, but P could see Derft shaking his head and tapping the man seated next to him. “For those of you who haven't met the 'skirt' in the back of the room, that's P. She's our listener.”

“P?” Derft asked from the front of the room. “Did they give you any other letters to go with that?”

“I find that one letter gives me more flexibility and anonymity…” She paused and raised her hands apologetically, “sorry Derft, those are some really big words. Let me speak in your language. If you don’t like my name, you can come back here and we’ll have a talk about it.” She not only wanted to keep her real name a secret, but she wished she could forget it herself. She wished she could forget a lot about her past.

Derft leaned forward, beginning to stand. “Now settle down,” Dunkan interjected, placing a hand on Derft’s shoulder and pushing him back down into his seat. “We’re on the same team here. Let’s all try to get along.” He made eye contact with P, then shook his head subtly. “The past few months we have stationed Ortis and Derft at the mine,” he pointed to the two men, the largest in the room, who nodded their heads. “Flick, Scar and Rod were working in transportation, but a recent accident has left us without Rod. Ashley and Stash have been working with the smelters. This is the process we have learned: The mines are a day's travel northeast of Kinstock with a reliable mount. It can be done as quickly as…” He searched his papers.

“Six hours, the fastest I've been able to do it is six hours,” Horse announced. “That was alternating between two horses in good weather.”

“Thank you, Horse,” Dunkan continued. “To eliminate that daily trek the miners have their own community near the mines. Many of the miners felt more comfortable in their little hamlet as they were mostly strongarms hired from the east who had settled with their families in the area. These people are all powerfully strong. Some are significantly larger than Ortis and extremely handy with picks and blunt instruments.” Dunkan paused and looked at the large men in the room with him. “If we tried to take the gold from them, they’d tear us apart. Flick and Scar have been working transportation of ore for three months. Tell us what you have found.”

Flick was a tall, thin man, uncommon for a strongarm, but despite his slender build he was known for having strength comparable to men twice his size.“To prevent anyone from trying to steal the gold bars, the exact location of the refinery is kept secret from everyone except the local soldiers and guards.” Flick smiled at the crew as they all grunted in response.

Scar, a tall, well-built man wearing a bandana, continued in a slow drawl. “The place is secret ‘cause there is two delivery routes. The first delivers half way and the second delivers the second half way.” Scar scratched his head and counted on his fingers, perhaps wondering if his math was accurate. After a moment of serious thought he looked up to Flick.

“Scar and I have been working on section one for three months, and in a strange turn of events, a man who was working in section two has gone missing, and they needed a replacement.” Flick smiled and raised his glass as the men returned the motion.

“I think he means to say we killed the guy,” Scar put in. Several men with their glasses raised shook their heads at Scar’s stupidity.

Saving his friend from any further embarrassment, Flick took over once again.

“Scar was placed on the second rotation, and we have mapped out the entire route to the refinery.”

Before any questions could be raised, Dunkan stood up.

“Thank you, Flick and Scar. While on a hiking trip in the forest, Com got lost and 'accidentally' passed by the refinery. Before the soldiers escorted him blindfolded back to the main road he was able to make some observations.”

Com, the slim visor in the group, stood up and walked to the front of the room. He quickly scanned the room and pointed to Ortis.

“I thought we were supposed to check our weapons at the door?”

“What you saying, little man?” Ortis shouted in a guttural voice.

“I'm saying that I can see the small blade that you have concealed under the armguard on your left arm.” Com stood calmly in front of the crowd. “There are also two others who slipped weapons in. Would you like me to point them out, or will you give them up willingly?”

Dunkan stood and looked over everyone. “If you want to be in this crew, we need to count on each other. Put your weapons at the door or you're out.”

Ortis and Derft stood and dropped their blades at the door. Everyone in the room looked around expectantly for the third person. No other person rose, but everyone turned to the door at the sound of metal on metal as a third blade, this one much smaller than the first two, landed on the pile. Com met eyes with P, then continued.

“There are fifteen guards outside the refinery.” This news made the entire crowd gasp, but Com continued. “Inside I counted five, but there are more. My best guess is at least double that.” Dunkan stood, nodding to Com, but Com continued standing and spoke. “By the foot marks and treads that were on the trails to the refinery I can also tell you that an armed guard of fifty men accompanies each full shipment of gold from the refinery to the keep in Kinstock.” Com returned to his seat.

This last piece of news began an outburst of objections, questions and dissentions.

“How are we going to pull this off?”

“Fifty, are you sure?” Horse asked.

Ortis shook his head. “This will never work.”

“That's a lot; it's even more than we have here,” Scar added after counting on his fingers.

Dunkan resumed his place at the head of the room and waved everyone to silence.

“This is also what Ashley and Stash reported. The shipment is guarded heavily from the refinery to the keep, because that is where they pay their taxes. After they collect the taxes, they seem a lot less worried about protecting the gold.” Dunkan smiled, then continued. “After the gold is counted and the taxes are collected, the gold bars are delivered to the merchants almost completely unprotected and that, my friends, is when we'll take it.”

On the street just outside the building P heard many footfalls as people passed the shop, but one attracted her attention. The person stopped outside the inn and then began walking again in an irregular manner. In response to this person, P raised her hand cautiously with two fingers extended. Dunkan, seeing the sign, copied it and seamlessly began a monotone lecture on the history of Kinstock for the benefit of the eavesdropper.

“Kinstock is a large town in northern Denall. It is large enough that it could rightly be called a small city, but most people still think of it as a town, as it has only been in the last generation that a nobleman of any significant rank has controlled the barony to which Kinstock owes fealty. The current Baron Tran was awarded the barony following an illustrious career in the king’s guard, and, it is rumored, as a way to ensure that the king’s sister, the late Baroness Tran, would be cared for in the manner to which she had grown accustomed while growing up in the castle at Norwell. Kinstock is located ten days north of Lexingar, the great city.” Scar raised his hand and looked like he was going to ask a questions, but was promptly silenced by an elbow from Flick and a second showing of the sign.

Flick, playing the part of an interested student, asked, “Why would the region of Kinstock be so much more a desirable place for the sister of the king?”

“Wonderful question,” Dunkan said in his best scholarly voice as he shook his head toward Flick. “There are two commodities that are easier to find in Kinstock than anywhere else in Denall; Maplewood lumber, and Kinstock gold. Baron Tran has a right to take a percentage of the taxes due to the realm on that gold, and those taxes add up quickly.” P put her hand down when the coast was clear and Dunkan continued. “The Kinstock goldmines are the richest in Denall, and that's why we're going to rob them,” he concluded with a smile.

While Dunkan laid out the plan, all present made careful mental notes so they knew their parts exactly. They all left the meeting speaking of the wonderful history of Kinstock, never to see each other again until the appointed time. P made her way back toward a small apartment under a jewelry shop. The rain started to fall, turning the streets into a slippery layer of thin mud over stones. The falling rain was an advantage to a well-trained thief as it obscured most of the regular sounds of the city. In the rain people were also more careless, concentrating on staying dry more than on the weight of their purses. Despite people pulling their coats up to their necks and shrugging their shoulders up to keep away the cold, P was quickly able to pick out one target to help fill her pockets.

Strongarms were the easiest prey. They often relied on their brute strength to solve problems and trusted that nobody would dare steal from them. P stepped up next to a large man under an awning. While he was looking out into the rain she slipped her hand into his satchel and relieved him of two coppers and a silver coin, exactly half of what he had.

As she dropped the coins into her purse, he looked down at her and tipped his hat before he ran out into the rain. She quickly looked around. There were no other obvious strongarms in the vicinity. As with most areas of Denall, the majority of people were level one or two listeners or visors, with an occasional intellect. Although there were other opportunities for her to snag a coin or two, she didn’t want to risk getting caught taking a penny when she was on the verge of a huge heist, so she left them alone.

P turned down the street toward her room and instantly ducked back behind the cover of the jewelry shop. Engaging her enhanced hearing, she could make out a conversation between two familiar voices that was happening in front of her door.

“I thought I just saw something at the end of the building there,” came Ashley’s voice.

“She shouldn't be back for another half hour, it can’t be her,” came the reply from Ortis. If she had been anyone else, that exchange would have put her mind at ease, but she had learned not to trust the words people said. She focused her hearing even further. In the alley, there was a distinct sound of fabric brushing against fabric at a quick rate, as if he was waving his arms around or pointing while he spoke. Next she heard the pounding of feet. They were coming after her.

P walked back past the front of the jewelry store, trying to look casual until she passed the edge of the building. She ducked down the alleyway between the shop and a bakery. Knowing she could be outmatched in a face-to-face confrontation, she decided to remain completely still and silent, allowing herself time to approach from a more advantageous position. She crouched for several minutes while monitoring all she could see, and doing regular sound scans of her surroundings. The two men walked together past the opening of the alleyway. In a short time they passed again going back toward her apartment.