The Chronicles of Amberdrake

by Loren K. Jones

  “He’s right. That pass is impassable in the dead of winter. A man would have to be crazed to want to be there when the weather closes in. And if he isn’t, he would be by the time the snow melts again,” Haslett said, and Odetta nodded her agreement.

  “What is it that you want from us, Cousin?” Odetta asked, looking into his eyes.

  “I need information as to whose hand to cross with gold to get permission to build,” Drake said softly, looking into the eyes of both of them.

  Haslett’s mouth twisted into a bitter grimace. “Lord High Councilor Mason Durand. He is a pig, but a powerful pig. He can give you the permission you want, but it will likely cost you twenty or thirty gold crowns.”

  Drake nodded and bid his hosts goodnight, retiring to the guest room that they had provided him. Once the house was quiet, he slipped out again. The Daemon stalked the night, and the thieves of Cederholm died. The capital was a large, prosperous city, and there were thieves in plenty. The Daemon concentrated on the more prosperous. And, as always, thoroughly enjoyed slaughtering them. Especially the drug lords. Ice, as well as a powdered plant extract from the southern seas, vied with each other for control of the people. Three Ice Lords and one Duster were found spread about their manors in the morning, with none the wiser as to what had shredded them. A little magic turned the unfamiliar coins into the heavy Shreverston gold crowns he was most familiar with.

  At morning meal, Drake asked to borrow a pouch. “I have a lot of coins to carry, and I can’t keep them hidden if I am going to see this Lord Durand.”

  “Where..?” Odetta asked, staring at Drake with wide eyes.

  Drake opened his coat and tapped his vest. “Sewn into the vest. That’s why I’ve been so tired. I was carrying a hundred Shreverston gold crowns. I came out this way to see about establishing myself.” Odetta tittered as Haslett stared. It looked like he had been half convinced that Drake was going to ask him for the money. “Now all I need is an introduction.”

  Haslett nodded, shaking off his surprise. “Very well. Come along, but leave your gold hidden until it’s needed. And don’t admit that you have any more than twenty. Lord Mason will set his bribe by how much he thinks you have. He is relatively honest about his graft. Not greedy, compared with some of the others.”

  Haslett led Drake to the palace, and spoke to the Guards at the gate. After an hour of cooling their heels, they were summoned. Lord High Councilor Durand looked at the men in front of him and frowned. He knew that Haslett was not prosperous enough to warrant his attention, but the other man looked more interesting.

  “How may I be of service to you, Citizens?”

  Haslett stood, motioning Drake to join him. Bowing, he made Drake’s request. “Lord Durand, if you please, this is a cousin from far away. He is interested in establishing an inn in the pass between Harley Point and Kelsey. We have come to you to seek permission.”

  “The fees for establishing such an inn would be high. Would this be an inn of your house, Haslett, or an unaffiliated inn?”

  Drake answered, bowing very low before speaking. “An inn of the house of Amberdrake’s Children, most honored lord. My branch of the family keeps inns in the Darendian Empire.”

  That had the lord blinking and looking closely at Drake. “For a foreigner, you speak our language quite well. Seeing that Amberdrake’s Children are so well known, I am inclined to grant this request. The fees will be, now let me see,” the lord paused and looked at some papers, “fifteen gold crowns.” He looked up and saw that both Haslett and Drake wore depressed looks on their faces. Too high, but I’ve already said it.

  Drake took a deep breath, and then sighed. “I have that much, Lord Durand, but little more.” He pulled his pouch from his belt and counted out the crowns.

  Lord Durand picked up one of the unfamiliar coins and weighed it in his hand. “This is a strange coin. Where is it from?”

  “Shreverston, Lord Durand. It is a major port city in the Empire, on the Antenian Sea,” Drake answered. He caught the look of surprise that crossed the lord’s face. Apparently, he had not believed that Drake was from so far away.

  “This is a heavy coin. Easily twice the weight of a Highsterad crown. I think seven of these will be sufficient.”

  Drake bowed and managed a smile as he said, “Thank you, honored lord.”

  Drake and Haslett left an hour later with the necessary parchment, properly signed and sealed. Haslett was all but laughing as they passed the gates.

  “Did you see his eyes? You using those foreign coins caught him completely off guard. Now, what else can I do for you, Cousin?”

  “Nothing. You have been very helpful, Cousin, and I thank you. I will be leaving in the morning,” Drake said, smiling at the look on Haslett’s face. “It is still going to take me a moon or more to build a structure that will stand up to the winter.”

  * * *

  Drake returned to the pass and surveyed the area. The mountains were basalt, not ideal for building in normal conditions, but just right for what he had planned. The molten stone had crystallized into hexagonal pillars, and those pillars were what he wanted. But I need more power than this human body can manage.

  Quickly scanning the area, he determined that there was no one near, and transformed. He did not eat the horse, though. He still needed it. Launching himself into the sky, he searched the countryside. A small herd of wild sheep soon formed a warm, fuzzy lump in his belly. Flying back to the plateau, he landed on a rocky outcropping and began his task.

  Pillars of solid rock began unearthing themselves and stacking into a pile. Once he was content with the number of pillars, he began breaking them up into six-foot lengths and tapering them. One end was slightly narrower than the other, so they would form a circle when they were stacked. Others he broke into three-foot-long pieces and similarly tapered them, then set them aside. These would be for the inn proper. The longer ones were for the outer wall. The horse was well out of the way, so he began stacking, layer upon layer, until he had built a circular enclosure thirty feet high, and four hundred feet in diameter. Then he flew off again to fetch another meal. Working so much magic is making me hungry.

  Six elk formed a very substantial meal, even for Amberdrake, and he brought two back for future meals as well. Transforming back into Drake, he collected his horse and entered the enclosure. Now for the hard part.

  The inn itself was to be circular as well, but he had to be more careful about his construction. It would not do at all to have the place collapse. He again used the natural shape of the stone to his advantage, shaping and stacking the stones to form a circle one hundred feet in diameter. A central pillar would be the tie point for the longer pillars that would support the floors. Darkness fell before he could complete the bottom floor, which he intended to use as the stables. Leaving animals outdoors during a storm in this pass could be deadly.

  The horse woke him in the morning, whinnying entreatingly and nosing the bag of grain he had brought for it. Sighing, he poured a measure of the grain into a shallow depression and fetched more water as well, then ignored the horse. There was a lot of work to do.

  The inn took shape quickly, and he finished it after twenty days of near-constant toil. Circular, standing four stories tall, the outer walls were built of fitted basalt rods, forming stout walls that were three-feet thick. The roof was basalt shingles. The interior was basalt tile floors, six-inch thick basalt block walls, and a wide, deep, basalt block circular stairway between the floors that twisted around the central pillar. The problem, which Drake noticed as soon as he was finished, was that it was also basalt gray. Depressing. Sighing, he scoured the surrounding countryside for stone of other colors, but little was available. He did find a vein of white stone, and became Amberdrake for a day to mine it. This stone he used as accents, replacing alternate floor tiles to form an attractive pattern. Similar wall tiles, carved by magic, added a touch of decoration to the place.

  Drake had made trips to both sides of the pass
as the days passed, buying the things he could not provide for himself, including massive timbers for a set of gates. His gold had arranged delivery, and his display of magic ensured that the mill owner did not forget him. The timbers were neatly stacked near the opening in the enclosure wall, and he busied himself building, installing, and decorating them. Foot thick timbers were bound together with precision, then milled flat with magic. He had decided to make the doors the sign as well. Dragon’s Rest was the name he had chosen, flaunting the family affiliation, and he spent hours carefully carving them to show a dragon curled beside the inn.

  Now that the inn was constructed, it was time to furnish it. He had commissioned beds, tables, chairs, and stout wooden mugs from carpenters on both sides of the pass, and traveled first to Harley Point to arrange delivery. The Carpenter’s League had done well, and five wagonloads followed him back. The apprentices helped move the furniture into the rooms for a silver crown each, while the journeyman supervised. Once they were gone, he traveled to Kelsey to see Nicholas and Illana.

  Nicholas was in the yard, seeing to a traveler’s horse, when Drake arrived. “Well, stranger, what brings you to these parts?” he asked, grinning broadly.

  “Beer. I need a beer. I ran out three days ago, and I’m about to die,” Drake said theatrically, clutching at his throat.

  Nicholas waved him inside, laughing. Illana met him and led him to a table. Beer and bison stew were quickly placed before him, and he sighed with pleasure. “Illana, I am going to steal you from Nick and make you my own.”

  “You always promise, but you never carry through. How is your inn coming? You were optimistic the last time that you would be done by now?” she asked, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

  “I’m finished building. I came to collect the furnishings that I ordered, and to see about some help. How’s the local market for indentured servants?” he asked, sipping the fine Amberdrake Clan beer and sighing.

  Illana looked curiously at him. “Indentured? What’s that?”

  “People who are in servitude to repay a debt.”

  Illana shook her head. “Why do that when you could just sell a woman or slave to pay the debt?”

  Drake was suddenly chilled. He had forgotten, for one moment, exactly where he was. Men owned women here, or male slaves. “Sorry, I had forgotten that. What is the market for women and slaves like?”

  “Good, so late in the year. The farmers are getting rid of some of their excess help. What are you looking for?” she asked, busily polishing a large platter.

  “Six women, four men. Preferably pretty women and strong men,” he answered, silently cursing the culture these people lived in.

  Illana thought for a moment. “That shouldn’t be hard, so long as your definition of pretty isn’t too firm.”

  The next three days were spent bargaining for the servants who would return with him to the pass. The four men were easy picks. It was the women that he had trouble with. In the end he had seven, having the misfortune of finding sisters who would not be separated after finding the other five. Seven wagonloads of beer making supplies, along with food of every kind and other supplies for the inn, left Kelsey and followed Drake back up the pass.

  When he arrived at the Dragon’s Rest, he found Cray Farabee camped outside the gates. “Hello there! What’s this? I traveled this way a moon ago, and nothing. Now this inn, but the gates are closed.”

  Drake laughed. “Hello, Cray.” Turning, he bowed to the horse. “Hello, Abigail. The inn isn’t ready yet, but come inside anyway.” Turning, he addressed the eldest of the women, Sadie Alicock, and motioned her forward. “Sadie, take the rest of the women and get yourselves settled in the rooms at the back of the top floor.” At her nod, he turned to the eldest of the men, Waite Seaton, and motioned him forward.

  “Waite, take the others and see to the horses and wagons. I want the furniture taken to the main room, the food to the kitchen, and the hay and grain to the stables. Pick one of the other men and have him bring water up to the kitchen. There’s a spring in the stables. Andrew knows how to handle horses, so leave them to him.” Waite nodded, his graying hair bobbing. He was the eldest by ten years, and had been sold because he was so old.

  Turning back to Cray, Drake grinned. “Now I can properly repay you for the ride you gave me. I have a cask of good beer that I purchased from the Green Valley Inn. Care for a mug?” Drake laughed at the thunderstruck expression on Cray’s face.

  “You built this in a moon? I want to hear this story.” Turning, he clicked his tongue at Abigail, and she obediently came to him, wagon still in tow. They had just arrived, having set out from Harley Point that morning, proving that this was indeed the midpoint of the pass.

  Drake filled him in on the how, why and when of his building the inn over mugs of Nicholas’ beer. “...So you just up and built it, did you? You should have said you were a Mage. I could have charged you for that ride.”

  Drake laughed. “I paid you, though you didn’t know it. Or rather, I paid Abigail. You may not have noticed, but your wheels were in need of repair. I fixed them so they rolled easier.”

  “She wasn’t straining as hard after that, I have to admit. Oh, very well, it is not as if it cost me a copper to bring you down. This is good beer. Another?” Cray asked, and Drake drew two more mugs.

  The women came down and formed a line at Drake’s shoulder. Turning, he surveyed them closely. Sadie was the oldest, nearly thirty, and had come from another inn that was faring poorly. Two silvers had secured her, and she was humiliated by it.

  Robyn Harkness was the next in age, at twenty-six. She had cost a full gold crown, but promised to be worth it. She had been an assistant cook for Lord Zane Keller until it was discovered that the lord was also using her as a spare mistress. His wife, who had turned a blind eye to his mistresses outside of the house, would not stand for him keeping her under the same roof. Since the roof had come with the wife, the servant had to go.

  Melinda Eagle was next, with her sister, Janna. Melinda was twenty, Janna was nineteen, and the two of them had come from a farm family who had fallen on hard times, mostly because of the two girls. Together they had rejected every suitor who had come to their father, who had spoiled them shamelessly. Now they had to go, and Drake had lain out a gold and three silvers for the pair. He had really only wanted Melinda, but it was both or neither.

  The fifth woman was a pinch-faced, tiny woman of seventeen named Jael Banker. Another discarded mistress, she had been the property of a merchant who preferred them young. She had become too mature for him, and he sold her to Drake for three silvers. Drake had kept his mouth shut, but had whispered a spell as he departed. Merchant Ladd was even now experiencing a run of ill fortune that would eventually ruin him.

  Sixth in line was Veda Cress. Tall and muscular, she had been another farm girl whose father could not find a suitable husband. The problem, as her father had explained it, was her head. She had strange ideas about how the world should be, and kept voicing her opinions. Drake had listened for a moment and taken her without reservation. The girl actually believed that she should have a choice as to what she was going to do with her life. Her father would not let her go for less than eight silvers, and Drake had managed to look unhappy about the purchase price.

  The last, and youngest, was Allison Gifford. She was sixteen, round and firm, and ugly as a mud fence. Drake had taken her out of pity, and a sudden feeling that she was more than she seemed, though he could not place what it was. Five silver, the average price for a girl who was not a virgin, had secured her from the Weaver’s League, though he was assured that she was indeed a virgin. With another girl, that would be worth another gold crown, but for one who looked like Allison..?

  The men were bringing the tables and chairs up and placing them at Waite’s direction, and Drake sent Sadie, who knew inns, to help direct the placement. Robyn was sent to the kitchen, along with Jael, to begin organizing the pantry and prepare a meal. Once the men
had seen to their tasks, Drake called them to his side.

  Beside Waite was Andrew Eakins. Andrew was a young man of twenty, and had cost the most. Three gold crowns had been necessary to get the owner of the community stables to part with him, but it was essential that he have a man who truly knew horses.

  The next man, Kelson Fuller, was also young. At sixteen, he had come from a trader who had run afoul of the Merchant’s League, and needed five gold crowns to pay his fine. Drake had paid two gold for him, declining to buy the three experienced whores the trader was also selling.

  The last man, Sebastian Appelgate, was another story entirely. A mercenary who had gotten into a fight while traveling through the area, he had been jailed until he could pay his fine. He could not pay his fine because he was in jail and could not earn any money. He had been made a slave to the city lord, and had been the practice target for the City Guard. His ungentle tutelage had improved the Guards, those who had not been too badly hurt, and Lord Parker was more than happy to part with him for five silver, the price of his original fine. The only thing that was keeping him from running off was a total lack of weapons.

  Drake nodded to each of them, then spoke. “As of now, you are all my employees. If you wish to leave, you must buy your freedom. You will be earning wages, so that freedom is possible. If it is your wish to remain after your cost is paid, you are welcome. My reasons are not entirely altruistic. I do not approve of slavery, but recognize the necessity in some cases. It is my belief that freemen work better and harder than slaves. Your freedom and self-determination are within your grasp. It is your decision. Waite,” he paused to ensure that the man was paying attention, “you are in charge of the outside of the inn. I want the yard neat, and any plants trimmed.”

  Turning to each man in turn, Drake detailed them to their tasks. “Andrew, the stables are yours. I want them clean and well stocked at all times. I have been informed that storms can spring out of nowhere at this time of the season. You and one of the others, probably Kelson, will be headed down the hill with two wagons for as much hay as you can haul. Kelson, you assist Waite and Andrew as needed.” Turning to Sebastian, he smiled.