All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (29 page)

Kahndar led Stavin off to where the horses were corralled. "Kar has been seeing to your horse. Everything else has been divided up by the rest of us."

Stavin spent a moment caressing his horse's nose before he answered. "I'll make up for it, Kahn."

"There's no need, Stave. I just figured you'd want to know. One thing I wanted to tell you is that now is the time to start looking for small things to buy. Dav and I have Barvil's permission to take our hands to the other caravans and the bazaar shops, so long as we stay together." He paused to look at the sun. "We don't have time right now, it's too close to mid day, but this evening we'll have some time."

S
TAVIN TOOK HIS PLACE IN
K
AHNDAR'S
hand again after the mid day meal and spent his time thinking of all the things he wanted to buy. Gifts for his family, especially Shari, were foremost in his mind, but he wanted other things as well. Books, especially histories of the empire and old kingdoms, were on his list, as well as the tales of great heroes.

There was still plenty of daylight left when their watch ended and Kahndar led them back to their wagon. Once all four of them were together, he gave his instructions. "We stay together. Always. Stay alert for cutpurses and light fingers; there are always some of both in a bazaar. Stave, I recommend that you put most of your coin in your big pouch and leave it with Barvil. You don't have to, it's your money, but you have more to lose than anyone else does."

Stavin nodded his understanding. "You're right. I'll just take enough for one or two items. I can always go back later if I don't have enough."

Horvan walloped him on the shoulder. "Smart man. I'll add that you don't want to drink much in a place like this. You never know what you're getting."

Stavin hurriedly put most of his silver and gold in the larger of his pouches and took it to Barvil for safekeeping, taking only three gold crowns, twenty silver, and fifty copper sparks with him.

Kahndar led them at a slow pace through three caravans, but none of them was tempted by the items. Then they reached the bazaar. The bazaar of Zigamarad was famous as a place where anything could be had—for a price.

The first thing that caught Stavin's attention was the scent of something he'd never smelled before. It appeared that the scent had caught Kahndar's attention as well, because he altered their route toward the smell.

"Ah, warriors, a sweet treat to eat, yes?" a time-roughened voice asked, and Stavin looked around Kahndar to see a wizened old woman stirring a cauldron over a low brazier.

"What is your produce, good lady?" Kahndar asked.

The old woman laughed. "Honey-spiced nuts, flatterer. A copper a cone," she said, picking up a piece of flat-bread and twisting it into a cone.

Stavin nudged his way past Kahndar and put a spark on her bench. "One please, and if we like them we'll buy more."

The old woman had frozen as soon as she saw Stavin, and now her gaze slowly moved over his armor until it reached the dragon on his helmet. "There's tales of a golden dragon warrior what's traveling the kingdom. Be you that one, Lord?"

Now it was Stavin's turn to laugh. "I'm not a lord, flatterer. Stavin Kel'Aniston, Friend of Evandia." He bowed deeply and removed his helmet. "Those smell really good." The old woman recovered her wits and filled the cone with hot sticky nuts and handed it to Stavin with a smile.

Stavin turned and offered the cone to the others first, and each man took a sample. The wide grins on the faces of his friends told the tale and three more copper sparks hit the bench as Stavin took a nut and popped it into his mouth. The honey was mixed with a spice that gave it a slightly hot aftertaste.

"What is the honey mixed with, if it's not a secret?" Barin asked.

"Makanin. It's a spice from the southern islands. It's common enough here," the old woman answered.

"It's good," Horvan commented.

Stavin concentrated on eating. If this makanin was common, then maybe he could afford some to take home.

When all four of them were reduced to licking honey from their fingers, Kahndar led them farther into the bazaar. Stavin looked around at the shops all around them. He drew plenty of attention as well and people stopped what they were doing to stare as he passed.

Barin was the next to spot something that he was interested in and steered the group toward a shop displaying embroidered wall hangings and pillows. The man under the awning looked up as they approached and scrambled to his feet. "Ah, warriors, how may I be of service? A dainty for a lady? A soft pillow with—"

"Embroidery yarn," Barin said, interrupting the man. "Silk, in as many colors as you carry."

"Yarn, young warrior? Of course, of course, come this way." The merchant led Barin to the side of the stall and showed him a selection of yarns that rivaled a rainbow. "Make your selection, young warrior."

"What is your price, good Sir?" Barin asked, touching the brightly colored string with one finger.

"Five sparks a span, young warrior," the merchant said with a wide smile and Barin's hand snapped back to his side.

"Five! Five sparks a span? Do I look like I'm made of gold? Or do you count me a fool because I'm young? A spark a span, and no more."

The merchant all but wailed his answer. "A spark? You'd rob me and see my family living in the streets? This is silk, from far Cornard, and no finer yarns are to be had. Oh, my wife will beat me and refuse my bed, but business has been slow. Four sparks a span. I can tighten my belt for a while." The merchant looked sorrowful, but Barin wasn't falling for his act.

Barin sneered at the man. "Your belt would thank me if it could. It's already too tight. I could possibly be persuaded to part with two sparks a span, so long as it was my span and not yours."

The merchant replied with a convincing wail of anguish. "Ayee, you steal the food from the very mouths of my children! You are a veritable giant! Your span is half again mine, yet you want me to cut my price? I'd be cutting my own throat."

Barin grinned and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I could cut it for you if you'd prefer."

The merchant looked at Barin and stood straight. "Hah! I knew you were a bandit! Three. Three sparks a span, though you force me to sell my daughter to accommodate you."

"My span, and I'll pay three sparks," Barin almost snarled.

"My span. I insist! You have already cheated me!"

"Imperial span, sealed by the Crown," Barin finally said, and the merchant seized on it.

"Done!" he said, clapping his hands once. "Three sparks per imperial span. Now, what colors would you like, young warrior? I have many shades of every imaginable color."

Barin reached into his pouch and pulled out a thin ribbon of parchment. "I have a list," he said, handing it to the merchant with a smile.

The merchant took the list and started pulling skeins of silk yarn from their bins. Once he had all of the colors, he began measuring the lengths. Barin stood at his shoulder and watched him closely as he did, checking each measurement carefully.

When he was satisfied with the colors and lengths, Barin laid out four silver crowns and two sparks. "Fourteen spans by three sparks a span, as agreed."

The merchant scooped up the coins and bowed. "You bargain well for one so young, warrior. Your lady will appreciate your efforts on her behalf."

Barin bowed in thanks, then led the way deeper into the bazaar. Kahndar patted him on the shoulder and said, "Tuck those away someplace safe."

Barin stopped and turned to Stavin. "Stave, unbuckle my breastplate. I'll tuck the yarn into my mail." Stavin did as he was asked while Kahndar and Horvan stood watch. In short order Barin once again had his hands free and his armor buckled, and the four moved on.

Stavin was carefully scanning the shops around them as they walked, looking at the people as much as at the displayed goods, so he was the first to notice that something was wrong. "We're being followed, Kahn," he said in a soft voice. "I've seen the same three men four times now."

Kahndar turned and looked down at Stavin with a large smile on his face. "Don't let on that you've spotted them. Keep watching, but don't stare." Then he laughed and faced forward again.

Horvan turned and grinned next. "Describe them," he said and slapped Stavin's shoulder.

Stavin did as he was told. "First man is Barin's size. Light brown hair, long and dirty. Dirty blue bandanna. Dirty red shirt, lots of patches. The second man is shorter, but wider. Dark hair, dark complexion, beard and mustache. No head covering. Dark shirt, but not black. I can't really tell what color it is through the dirt. Third man is taller than the first, but rail-thin. Blond hair, beard, and mustache. Cleaner-looking. He's wearing a dark blue coat of some kind over a yellow shirt."

"Seamen," Kahndar said. "The coat is the giveaway. I think it's time for this hand to become a claw."

A
S SOON AS
K
AHNDAR FINISHED SPEAKING
, the others moved. Horvan slowed a little until he was behind Kahndar's shoulder and clear of his sword arm. Stavin moved out to take a position outside and behind Kahndar, and Barin took the same position by Horvan. In just a few blinks of an eye they had gone from casual two-by-two marching to a battle formation.

For a time, it seemed that their display was enough to discourage the men. All four of them had begun to relax when suddenly the people in the street began to run, clearing the space in front of them to reveal ten armed men, with the blond man in the blue coat a step ahead of the rest.

"We just want that one," the blond man said, pointing at Stavin. "The rest of you can take your lives and go. Only the golden boy has any value."

Kahndar smiled and drew his sword, as did Horvan. "You are mistaken. Friend Stavin is of no value to you. He is, however, valuable to our people. You won't take him."

Kahndar's comment was enough for the men, and they ran forward with long knives and short, curved swords in their hands. When they were three paces away, Kahndar attacked. The rest of the claw was just a blink behind him.

Stavin charged into the men with his Dragon's Tongue flashing as it slid through the bodies of the seamen. He was peripherally aware that the other three warriors were wading in to the fight as he caught a swung sword on the haft of his Dragon's Tongue and cut the wielder’s legs off as he pushed away.

The fight was over in moments, and the four valley warriors stood victorious over nine dead bodies. The tenth man, the blond leader of the group, was still standing where he had been when they had first seen him, gaping at the scene. Then he turned and ran.

A man stepped out of the mouth of an alley and stuck his arm out, catching the blond man across the throat and dropping him in the street. Then he hauled him back to his feet and forced him at sword-point back to face Stavin and Kahndar.

"I am Danival Zel'Orvan, Sworn Deputy to Lavad Zel'Carval, Lord Sheriff of Zigamarad. The bazaar is my sector of the city. You," he said, poking the blond man in the back with his sword, "what did you intend to do with Friend Stavin?"

The blond man stared sullenly at the ground and said, "I've nothing to say."

"You'll say plenty to the lord's mage. Friend Stavin, please accept my apologies on behalf of the city. At a guess," he paused and looked at his prisoner carefully, "I'd say they planned to ransom you to His Majesty. This fool is probably a mate on one of the trading vessels in the harbor. When we find out, you will be informed." The deputy then used his free hand to search his prisoner and pulled a heavy purse from his coat pocket, and tossed it to Stavin. "Please accept this as a partial recompense for this unfortunate incident. You may, as is customary, take their arms, but you are unlikely to find much coin. Not on sailors of their caliber. I'll send the grave diggers for the bodies."

Stavin and his comrades bowed deeply to Deputy Zel'Orvan and watched as he guided his prisoner away. Kahndar looked around at the circle of people surrounding the scene and said, "Stavin, Barin, on guard. Horvan, help me check these men and gather their weapons."

Kahndar and Horvan made short work of the task and stood to present Stavin and Barin their share. "Stave got three. Two each for the rest of us. Lord Zel'Orvan was right about there not being much coin," Kahndar said, looking around. "I want to circle back to the caravan. Retracing our steps could be asking for more trouble. Tuck that pouch away, Stave, and keep your eyes open. I think our being ready made them move sooner than they planned."

The group kept their formation as they marched through the bazaar and had people hurrying out of their way. They were nearing the border of the bazaar when Stavin let out a moan of disappointment. "Oh, why did it have to show up now?"

Kahndar looked down at Stavin, then followed his gaze to a solid-looking building. There were books on display under the awning. A bubbling snort of amusement escaped and quickly turned into full-throated laughter. Barin and Horvan joined in, and soon even Stavin was grinning.

"Kahn," Horvan said as he regained control of himself, "we can stop here, can't we? We're almost out of the bazaar."

"You know Barvil won't let him come out here again," Barin added. "Not after that attack."

Kahndar nodded and patted Stavin's shoulder. "Give me those swords and give Barin your Tongue. Don't be too long."

Stavin quickly complied, and went into the bookseller's stall. All around him were tomes of various sizes and ages. He hardly noticed the man near the door until he spoke.

"It's an unusual warrior who comes to look at my books."

Stavin spun to face the voice, then bowed when he saw the frail old man. "I am, or will be, apprenticed to our scribe during the winter, good Sir."

The old man smiled broadly at that. "A warrior scribe, eh? Well then, what do you seek?"

"Old histories. Books from Imperial times. Tales of ancient heroes," Stavin immediately replied.

"I have some like that over here, young man." The old man made his way to a back corner of the stall and opened a cabinet. "Can you read the glyphs, young warrior?"