Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town (57 page)

            
Finally, the ten warlords began contacting Zoran about trading arrangements. Via
a Message spell from their Mage, a warlord sent him word that a trade meeting was
desired. Accompanied by General Janos, Emil, Renata, and a few Security men, Zoran
began visiting the warlord fortresses, conducting business meetings. Warlord Eduard of
Kin Province was the first to request such a meeting. His fortress was bleak and sparsely
populated. He explained that most of his men were out manning the huge border with
Vraz Province, where Baron Kazimir still fielded a sizeable garrison army on his border
with Kin. Not surprisingly, Eduard wanted swords, armor, and then grain, in that order.

            
“I’ve put together one thousand drun of gold,” he stated. [A drun is roughly
1/16th of a pound.] “We have about five thousand drun-worth of gems. The wagon is
loaded and ready for shipment, but the roads to Brn are still not finished nor is it safe to
transport such a sum. I do not trust other warlords; besides there are bandits who would
stop at nothing to acquire this wagon. What are you going to do about it? When will we
get our weapons, armor, and grain?” he asked belligerently.

            
“I assume that you trust me,” Zoran answered a bit testily. He nodded. “I can take
your wagon back with me, guaranteeing its safe delivery to Brn. I will then contact the
other planets and put together your order.”

            
General Janos broke in, “Baron, you ought to ask what grade of weapons he
wishes and the quality of his armor.” Zoran grinned and nodded to his General.

            
“Right, you heard him. I admit that I have much to learn,” Zoran replied. Warlord
Eduard snickered. He liked this youth, who was not afraid to admit that he didn’t know
everything.

            
“Military grade. None of those fancy Duska blades. We have to defend our
borders and that means arming everyone I can find. Same with armor. Chain mail tops,
forget full body chain mail. That’s way too expensive. We’ll take ring mail if chain turns
out to be too costly or will take too long to make. We need it as soon as possible here. No
telling when the Baron will strike. It is summertime and that is when he traditionally
attempts to take over another province.”

            
“Okay. Thanks. Eduard, after the devastation my dragon friends cost him last
year in Sholov, I don’t think that he will be attacking you this summer. I strongly believe
that we have yet a little time to prepare,” Zoran tried to encourage the warlord. It did
appease Eduard, who actually was looking for just such a confirmation of his own take
on the situation.

            
Since the wagon weighed only a few hundred pounds, Zoran was able to Shadow
Walk it and his companions back to Brn. He counted out the funds and had Aldrick
verify the value of the gems before he began negotiations. As he got ready to actually
make the attempt at trade, Zoran suddenly recognized that he had no notion at all of
how to proceed! Here was a complete arena in which he knew absolutely nothing! It
shocked him.

            
Uncle Milan, help! Business, this time. Duh, I have just gotten my first request
for supplies from Warlord Eduard. Naturally, he wants weapons, armor, and grains.
How the heck do I proceed? Who do I contact? Honestly, Uncle, I don’t know what I am
doing with business affairs!

            
Baron Milan roared with laughter. With his Duska given telepathy, Zoran could
sense his mirth and he flushed.
Relax, Zoran. I’ve already worked this out. My younger
daughter, Dusana, is seventeen now. She has an incredible knack for business dealings.
She is betrothed to Baron Tom Witherspoon’s son, John, also seventeen and heir to his
throne. I’ve discussed this at length with Tom. We both feel that it is high time that
these two get their feet wet with real world dealings. Terra is an agrarian planet,
awash in trading throughout the Federation. Hence, it is vital for his son to become an
astute businessman. That my Dusana is following in Tom’s footsteps has endeared her
with Tom. If this is acceptable to you, we will send both of them to stay with you for a
year or two to help you get things going there and train someone in how to conduct
proper business affairs.

            
Uncle, I don’t know how to properly thank you. Say, yes I do know. How would
you like an ancient magical bastard sword? It belonged to the original founder of
Adapazan, Baron Valentýn Vladislov, first Baron of Adapazan. We found a stash of his
things.

            
Incredible, Zoran! Yes, that would be a treasure of treasures! Thank you
nephew! Okay, I will tell Dusana and John to make plans to come to Brn. Shall we say
in two days’ time?

            
Perfect, just perfect. Oh, please tell them to expect rather crude living
arrangements here. We’ve only got an Archmage tower for accommodations.

            
I know, nephew, I know. Okay. I’ll get on it. Expect their arrival on Wednesday.
Thanks again for the incredible gift!

            
Zoran set to work clearing out another storeroom, next to the room shared by the
sisters from Asami. He’d forgotten to ask his Uncle if he should keep the two in separate
rooms. He knew how he would have loved to sleep with Zdenka and decided to allow the
young couple to make this decision for themselves. If need be, he could put one of them
in a smaller room on the fourth floor.

            
At lunch, he told everyone about their new guests. Zdenka immediately insisted
that the two unmarried teens have separate rooms! The sisters volunteered to move to
the fifth floor into the room next to Zdenka and Zoran. His crimson face told all that his
gaffe was a big one, and he quietly said nothing but thanked the two grinning teens.

            
With gusto, he prepared the vacant room for the teens and helped them move
their few belongings into their new room. A bit later, he’d finished making up the beds,
over the protests of Zuzanna, who continually insisted that he was doing her job. “Next,
you will be emptying the chamber pots for me,” she teased him.

            
“Oh, do they need emptying?” he teased her back. She threw a pillow at him and
laughed.

            
Five minutes later, it was back to utter boredom for Zoran. However, he then had
an idea. Little did he know how pivotal this idea would become to him. He contacted
Rayna and Lida.
Say, do you know who Kazimir may have fathered children with,
besides mom? I know that he has found one of them and is making this Damek Kamil
his heir. We ought to find any other of our half brothers and sisters and get them on
our side.

            
Super, little brother,
Lida replied. The two volunteered to find out. Just how they
could escaped him, especially when they reported back with the information in less than
two hours! There were two other half-sisters out there. One was called Zuza Vavrin, age
ten, who lived with her barmaid mother, Hana, in Chynava, Dorum Province, outside
the city of Dorum. The other was fifteen year old girl called Kamila Lota, who lived with
her mother, Eva, who was a cook at an inn in Toky, a village not too far from Dorum.

            
An hour later, highly enthused, Zoran, against all of the protests of General
Janos, teleported to the inn in Chynava. Karel, Jarka, Bernard, and Emil came with him,
though they had cast Invisibility on themselves and promised to be on the qui vive and
remain in the background. The inn was a rundown, seedy one, just right for Kazimir to
visit clandestinely of a night. He walked up to the barkeeper. “I’m looking for Hana
Vavrin. May I have a word with her?”

            
“Cost ‘u a pint,” the burly man replied. Zoran tossed him a coin and he slid a filthy
mug of ale over to him. “Hey, Hana, another one to see you.” Zoran moved to a back
corner table, where he could not easily be overheard.

            
A thirty year old, pretty blonde haired barmaid, dressed in a provocative but
colorful dress, covered with dozens of make-shift patches, walked over to him. She sat
down opposite him, sizing him up. Where to begin went through Zoran’s mind. “Well
stranger, I be Hana.”

            
He noticed that the barkeeper kept a sharp eye on him, as did two other hooded
men drinking at another table. “Hana, I want to talk with you about your future. This is
extremely important. It’s about your daughter and you. Please, is there somewhere that
we can go and have a private talk? It is vital that we speak honestly.”

            
“I take men to my room. Give the barkeep a gold and follow me,” she replied.
Something about this young man pricked her interest. He didn’t look like the ordinary
kind looking for a quick lay. Zoran tossed a gold coin to the barkeeper, who grinned, bit
it, and deposited the coin in his cash box. Quickly, Zoran followed her up the back stairs.
He sensed his other Invisible men following him. To hide the noise of their footsteps,
Zoran made as much stomping noise as he dared.

            
She opened a door and beckoned him follow her inside. Such squalid conditions
Zoran had never seen before. A young girl wearing mostly rags sat in one corner playing
with a filthy doll someone had obviously discarded. He was surprised to see a small boy
about her age playing with two broken toy soldiers in another corner beside a dirty bed.
The girl, seeing Zoran, immediately got up to leave, tugging on her brother’s arm.
Evidently, Hana often brought men up here, and the children were trained to quietly
leave, Zoran guessed. “Please, allow them to stay. This concerns them as well.”

            
“Well, just who are you and what do you want? Only last week some of the
Baron’s men came by here. At least they gave me a gold,” she stated flatly.

            
“First, is this Zuza?”

            
“Yes, she is Zuza and he is Jan. Why?”

            
“Hi Zuza. Is she the daughter of Baron Kazimir?”

            
“Why? That’s what his men wanted to know. Give me a gold and I’ll tell you.”

            
Zoran gave her ten gold coins. That got her undivided attention, as he suspected it
would. “I am Baron Archmage Zoran Vladislov, the Kazimir’s youngest son. I have a new
Circle of Ascension and am representing the Free People of Adapazan. Zuza is my sister,
well half-sister. I want to give her the rights to her birthright as the daughter of a baron.
I want to help her to become a Duska and to learn as much magic as she can learn. Will
you consider moving immediately to my place in Brn Province, where she will be safe
and can learn all that she can from my wife, Archmage Zdenka? I will do right by you,
Hana. I will see that you are well taken care of. As the mother of a Duska, you should not
be living in such a hovel. You should be honored and revered as the mother of a Duska!”

            
Hana’s eyes opened wider and wider. Her face flushed and began fanning her face
with her hands. Then, she fainted. “Mommy! Mommy, what’s wrong? What did you do
to her?” Zuza cried, running over to her mother. Jan did too.

            
“She’s okay; she just fainted. Here, she is coming around, Zuza. The news was a
bit of a surprise,” Zoran explained. He helped her sit up as her eyes opened.

            
“Mommy, are you all right?” a worried Zuza exclaimed.

            
“Yes, yes, dears,” she said very softly.

            
“Mommy, I want to learn magic! Can I? Mommy, please, can I learn magic?” Zuza
begged.

            
“Me too, mommy. I want to learn magic too,” Jan added, tugging at her arm.

            
“Are you playing a nasty game with me?” Hana finally collected her wits. Such an
offer just could not be real.

            
“Allow my companions to enter, and they can vouch for me.” She nodded, half
expecting to see a bunch of the Baron’s soldiers coming to arrest her, though for what,
she did not know.

            
She saw no one entering the room and began to think this was some kind of joke
being played on her. One by one, the Invisibility spells were canceled, and she saw Karel,
Jarka, Bernard, and Emil standing just inside the door, making the room rather crowded
around the door. “Allow me to introduce my dear friends. This is Archmage Karel, Mage
Jarka, Mage Bernard, and Archmage Emil. Now do you believe me?”

            
Seeing such powerful men and women standing there finally convinced Hana that
this was not a joke. “Are you really against Baron Kazimir?” she asked.