All that Glitters (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 1) (35 page)

Stavin bowed deeply. "I will guard it with my life, and when I tell my commander what it is, I'm sure he will ensure its safety even if I die."

General Zel'Enred gave Stavin a gentle shake. "I'm going to have to be satisfied with that. And you are correct, Friend Stavin, that the more minds on this the better. A translation by a Master Scribe is also going to be more easily accepted than a translation by a youth, no matter what his qualifications. Knowledge is like food, Friend Stavin: even a tidbit is better than none. Here," the general said, turning to the side, "I usually keep it in this." The general set a box the size and shape of the book next to it on the table. "My Master Battlemage was amused by the idea and agreed to put a protective spell on the book to keep it from crumbling, but there's no sense in taking unnecessary chances." The general closed the book and put it in the box, then closed and latched the lid.

Stavin picked up the box and bowed deeply. "Lord General Zel'Enred, thank you for the opportunity to examine this book. During the winter I will endeavor to translate as much of it as I can with the help of Master Kel'Zorgan. I will send you messages when I can, detailing what I have discovered."

"Friend Stavin, thank you for agreeing to examine it. I'll let you get back to your duties now, and I'll get back to mine." The general escorted Stavin to the door and motioned him through. He smiled at the young lieutenant as she turned toward them. "Lieutenant, escort this extraordinary young man back to his friends."

"Yes, Sir," Lieutenant Zel'Coy snapped and motioned Stavin to join her. When the general's door closed, she looked hard at Stavin and asked, "Could you really read it?"

"Yes, though just barely. Master Kel'Zorgan will be able to read more of it than I can," Stavin said as they headed out of the office. Nothing more was said as they walked back to the caravan, and Lieutenant Zel'Coy left Stavin at the wagons with one final comment.

"I wish you luck, Friend Stavin, and a safe journey." Then she turned and briskly walked away.

Barvil and Kahndar met him at the wagon. "What's in that box, Stavin?" Barvil asked.

"A book, Sir."

Kahndar laughed. "Somehow, I'm not surprised."

"Nor I," Barvil agreed.

"Well, I was, Sir," Stavin said, then detailed all he knew about the book.

Kahndar and Barvil were stunned silent for a moment, then Kahndar spoke in a breathy whisper. He said, "If that is genuine, then it may be the most valuable book in existence, and the general just sent it off with you? That doesn't sound right, Stave," as he looked at the box.

Stavin shrugged one shoulder. "Everyone else thinks it's gibberish, Kahn. And the general didn't just send it with me. He wanted me to stay here, but I explained why I couldn't, and he acknowledged that the same reasons prevent him from going with us. The box and book are also spelled by the general's Master Battlemage for protection." He pulled his lips tight and shook his head as he looked at the box. "The only problem I see is that it's a flat book, not a scroll. I'll let Master Kel'Zorgan determine if that means anything," Stavin said as he shoved the box in beside his box of books.

"Why is it not being a scroll a problem?" Kahndar asked. "Lots of books are flat instead of rolled."

Stavin nodded without looking around. "New books, or I should say, new
er
books are often flat, but ancient texts, from the time of the early empire, were almost always rolled scrolls. If this is as old as it appears, it should be in a tube, not a flat box." Stavin wedged the box carefully in place and covered all of the books with a piece of oiled leather and lashed the whole thing back in place.

The caravan continued on toward Kavadia the next morning and met an early winter storm before mid daymid day. Freezing rain fell sporadically and the wind blew it into everyone's faces. Sahren kept them moving until it got so dark that she was afraid to continue. The caravan formed a protective circle and Barvil sent his men out in twos. He really wasn't concerned about bandits in this kind of weather, but that didn't mean he was going to let his guard down completely.

Morning dawned cold and clear and the caravan continued along its way. Sahren began pushing the pace as the weather continued to remain cold. When she had stopped only briefly to trade and then moved on before nightfall at three towns, Barvil asked why.

"That was an unusual storm, Barvil, and it has continued to be colder than normal. We're still twelve days from Markavia Cross and we shouldn't be facing this kind of weather yet."

Barvil nodded and looked at his men. They all knew that an early cold snap tended to bring out the bandits as well as poor people who weren't prepared and were just trying to survive.

The caravan reached the town of Fallen Leaf, just across the border into Kavadia, four days later and stopped as the sun went down. Trader Sahren didn't have to tell her people to circle the wagons. This was the Kavadian border region. There was no other formation that they dared take.

Sahren spent a day in Fallen Leaf, trading for information as much as anything else. "Barvil," she said as she joined the warriors at the evening meal, "there are already rumors of attacks farther up the road. I'd like to put one of my people in your wagon and move it up to a less exposed position. That will put all of your warriors in the saddle where they belong."

"That would be best," he agreed. "For our part, I'm putting on extra guards at night and we'll keep close to the caravan during the day."

The caravan moved on, planning to stop at each town for the night, no matter when they arrived. That was fine at the next town up the road, but trouble met them before they reached the one after that.

The sound of shouting came from up the road. Barvil had Sahren stop while he investigated. What he saw infuriated him. Bandits had hit a caravan and were busily searching the wagons while a few amused themselves with a pair of women. Barvil drew his sword and waved it in a circle over his head, calling his men to him without using his horn and warning Sahren to circle her wagons at the same time.

Stavin rode forward from his number two position and stopped beside Barvil. Karvik arrived just a breath behind him. As soon as the rest of the warriors joined them, Barvil kicked his horse into a gallop.

Barvil's first targets were the rapists, and he vaulted from the saddle before they had pulled their pants up. Both men fell, dead before they hit the ground, and Barvil turned toward the wagons.

Stavin had dismounted and attacked a swordsman. His Dragon's Tongue flicked out and the man died with a cut throat. Another man bled to death after Stavin cut his sword arm off and then removed the other arm for good measure. Stavin's third opponent tried to use a spear to keep him at bay, but Stavin was running too fast. He took the spear point off with a sweeping gesture and opened the man from crotch to collar with the return blow. Then he saw a man holding a knife at the throat of one of the rape victims and slowed his pace.

"Stay back!" the man shouted. "Stay back or she dies!"

"She dies, you die," Stavin said as he walked away from the caravan to circle the man and his hostage.

"All I want to do is escape. That's all I want to—
URK!"
The man's eyes bulged as Kahndar's armored hand grabbed his wrist while its mate drove a knife into his back.

S
TAVIN AND
K
AHNDAR STAYED TOGETHER AS
they walked along the caravan. They found the four warriors who had been this caravan's protection laid out by the road. They had died together with their hands tied, and Stavin realized what must have happened: they had surrendered to save themselves.

A pitiful groan drew them to a man in a Master Trader's vest. "Don't rob us. Don't just save us for yourselves," he whispered.

"That would be dishonorable," Stavin replied, and he saw a flicker of hope in the trader's eyes before he breathed his last.

Barvil walked up with his sword still dripping blood. "Is everything secure?" he asked, looking at Kahndar for an answer.

"Yes, Sir. Three dead bandits on my count," Kahndar replied.

"Stavin?"

"Three more for me as well, Sir. That man was the Master Trader. These were the guards he hired," Stavin said, pointing at the bound dead men.

"Better to fight to the death than be slaughtered like sheep," Barvil said, quoting the Code of the Warrior. "Start helping the survivors." Barvil took his horn and blew one long tone to signal to Trader Sahren that it was safe to come forward.

Stavin and Kahndar snapped to attention, then walked away to obey the order. It took just a few moments to discover that with the exception of the two rape victims, there were no survivors.

The women were huddling together, crying. Stavin wanted to go to them, to help, but they flinched when he stepped closer. Backing away, he clenched his teeth as hard as he could. When the caravan arrived he ran back to Angeleese’s wagon and got her to drive around while he explained the situation.

Her eyes were bleak as she asked, “Did you kill them all?”

Stavin answered, “Of course,” without looking at her.

“Good.”

Karvik walked up beside Stavin and spoke without looking away from the pile of bodies. "They killed them all. They killed the men first, then the children, then took the women—they took the women and raped them."

Stavin nodded. "I saw. Their guards surrendered to save themselves, but they were slaughtered anyway. How many did you get?"

"Four. Two who hardly even defended themselves, one who thought a woodsman's ax was a weapon, and a fourth coward who was running away."

Stavin's expression lightened as he looked at Karvik's shoulder. "I don't think Sharvan or Rohana will find anything to object to when you ask for Orana. Not with four red stripes on your shoulder your first time out of the valley."

"So long as she hasn't accepted anyone else while I was gone," Karvik whispered.

Barvil's horn called them back to their caravan and they found him in conference with Trader Sahren. As soon as everyone was together, Barvil told them what had been decided.

"That caravan was from Reynadia. Sahren and I have agreed that since there are survivors, they still own the wagons and goods. Sahren is going to have her people drive the wagons and we are going to spread out to protect them all." He looked at his men and nodded once. "Kahn, take your hand and begin rounds. Dav, you and your men start loading everything back into the wagons."

All eight of the young warriors snapped, "Yes, Sir," and headed off to their assignments. Stavin began marching around the caravan, watching the surrounding trees. He slowed his steps as he approached Angeleese’s wagon, but he didn’t go near it. It seemed that half of the women from the caravan were there, and he was sure more were inside.

Davel and his men used their horses to drag the bodies of the bandits off the road and into the forest, then started loading the wagons. Sahren had sent six of her men forward with shovels and they started digging a large grave-pit well away from the road. When they were ready, Davel and his men helped carry the bodies of the traders to the grave and laid them together. Then all ten men worked to fill in the grave, stamping the dirt to compact it, and scattering the remainder to hide the grave from the road—and the survivors.

The Reynadian caravan had eight wagons, and Sahren had them dispersed among her wagons. The elongated caravan moved on as soon as it could to get away from the site of the attack. They had stopped long enough that night was upon them before they reached the next town and Sahren made the decision to stop when it became too dark to see their surroundings clearly. She didn't explain why, but then, she really didn't need to. There was only one likely place for those bandits to have come from.

Barvil gathered his men before setting his guards. "Dav, take your hand and begin rounds. Kahn, get some sleep. Sahren wants to be on the move as soon as she can. Change hands at mid night."

The warriors all snapped, "Yes, Sir," before going to carry out their orders.

In the morning, Barvil briefly gathered his men. "I claim four. Kahndar claimed three and his fourth red stripe. Stavin claims three. Karvik claims four and his fourth red stripe. Now stay alert. This is still Kavadia and anything can happen."

The sun found the caravan already moving again and they reached the town of Fel'Hadak by midmorning. Sahren kept on going, not stopping to trade as she had been doing. There might be questions that she didn't want to answer.

The caravan pushed on after dark and reached the city of Varindia not long after the moons rose. The guards at the caravansary didn't question their late arrival. This was Kavadia: no one camped if they didn't have to.

In the morning Kahndar's hand accompanied Trader Sahren and the two survivors to the local Traders' Guild Chapter House. The man behind the desk looked up, then almost leapt to his feet.

"Master Trader Sahren, welcome. You're late this year." He looked behind her to the warriors and especially Stavin. "So it's true. We heard wild rumors that you had a gold-clad warrior with you."

"It is true, Ardic. We have grim news for the Council in Aravad, but it will wait." She motioned the survivors forward and said, "These two women are the only survivors from a caravan that was attacked south of Fel'Hadak. They have eight wagons of trade goods from Reynadia and are under the protection of Zel'Vandar. They
will
be treated properly, won't they?"

The man took a step back and swallowed before bowing deeply. He said, "As you say, Master Trader Sahren."

"Good," Sahren said in a lighter tone. Turning to the women, she smiled softly. "You are as safe as my own daughters would be. Your goods will be inventoried and you will be allowed to keep or sell what you wish. The Zel'Vandar Trading House will buy what you don't want at a fair price. Not a good or generous price, you understand, but a fair one."

The younger of the two women was barely twenty, but she had recovered far better than her older cousin. "We thank you, Master Trader Sahren. Beyond one wagon and our personal belongings, there is nothing we wish to keep. If it hadn't been for you and your warriors, we wouldn't even have our lives."