Web of Deceit

by Richard S. Tuttle

  Wicado spun and headed for his office without waiting for a response from Lam. He sat down at his desk and filled out more slave transfer forms. He finished the forms and stood in front of the window gazing out. Rejji arrived and coughed to make his presence known, but Wicado remained silent at the window. After a few awkward moments, Wicado turned and Rejji could see the barest trace of tears in the Bursar’s eyes.

  “You asked for me?” Rejji asked.

  “Yes, Rejji, I did,” Wicado answered. “You are being sold.”

  “Why?” quizzed Rejji. “Have I done something wrong?”

  “No,” answered Wicado. “I have just been informed that I am to take on an assistant. Your services to my office will no longer be needed.”

  “I understand,” frowned Rejji. “Still there are many other things I can do here. I do not mind working the fields and I have been good. I don’t want to be separated from my friends.”

  “You will not be separated,” Wicado said with a faint smile. “Mistake and Bakhai are going with you.”

  Rejji walked over to Wicado and hugged him. “Thank you, Sir,” he said. “I would die if I lost them.”

  Wicado stiffened and returned to his desk. “There is no guarantee that your new owner will keep you together,” he stated. “It does sound like the three of you are desired for your knowledge of Fakara though and that is a good sign that you will be treated well. I shall remember you always, Rejji. You are a fine lad and have done well in everything asked of you. The merchant that drove us back from Khadoratung is waiting outside. Take these papers with you.”

  Rejji picked the papers up and stared at the Bursar for a moment, but Wicado’s head was down and he would not raise it to make eye contact, so Rejji left. He exited the mansion and saw the merchant’s wagon with Bakhai and Mistake standing behind it. The merchant was there as well and he watched Rejji approach. Rejji handed him the papers and he nodded.

  Rejji glanced at Mistake and saw that she had been crying again. Rejji supposed that she thought she was being sold without him. He smiled at her and she broke into a big grin.

  “Rejji,” the merchant said, “you may call me Sebastian. Seeing as I know you can be trusted, you may ride up front with me. You shall perform chores for me until we reach your new master. You may start by making sure these two are properly shackled. I must go pay the Bursar. I will return shortly.”

  Bakhai climbed into the wagon, but Mistake stood her ground. “You aren’t really going to put those on me, are you?” she asked Rejji.

  “I am,” Rejji said. “Are you so quick to forget what almost happened this morning? We have not even left the estate and you are thinking about it again. Be glad that the reports of you trying to escape will not follow you to our new home.”

  “Home?” Mistake squealed. “My home is in Fakara, not in chains.”

  “Get in and let me get your shackles on,” frowned Rejji. “I will try to talk with the merchant after we are under way. Maybe he can be bought.”

  “With what?” scowled Mistake as she climbed into the wagon. “I already caused you to lose your gold. Now you have nothing to bargain with.”

  “I will still try,” smiled Rejji as he fastened the shackles on his two friends. “If we are going to be near the capital, I know I can make money there. I will promise him an exorbitant sum for the three of us.”

  “Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Bakhai offered. “This merchant’s horses are well cared for. Wouldn’t he care for us as well?”

  Rejji looked at Bakhai and shook his head. He climbed out of the wagon to see Sebastian coming down the steps. Sebastian indicated that Rejji should climb aboard up front and then silently took the reins and started the wagon rolling. He did not speak as the wagon left the Pikata estate and turned onto the road leading to Sintula. Eventually, Rejji could not take the silence.

  “How much did you pay for the three of us?” Rejji asked.

  Sebastian gazed over at Rejji and shook his head. “You seek to buy your freedom from me?” he asked.

  “Yes,” confirmed Rejji. “I do not have gold now, but I can make it and you know I can be trusted.”

  “I know you can be trusted to ride up here with me,” Sebastian smiled. “That is not exactly the same thing as trusting you to deliver on a promise when you are out of sight.”

  “But I cannot make the gold to pay you if you do not set me free first,” reasoned Rejji. “I am willing to pay you double what you paid for us.”

  “That is an awfully gracious offer,” Sebastian remarked, “seeing as you have no idea how much I paid for you. I could make up any price I wanted to. Have you not thought that far ahead? Or is it that you never plan to pay me anyway so the amount is irrelevant?”

  “No,” promised Rejji. “I would pay you. I guess what I am saying is the amount is not important to me. If I had work my entire life to pay you back, I would do so, as long as we did it as free people.”

  “So you think your two friends would help you in repaying this debt?” queried the merchant. “Have you even consulted with them about this plan?”

  “No,” admitted Rejji, “but I know they would stand by me in this.”

  “They would, would they?” chuckled Sebastian. “Suppose at camp tonight I let your girl friend sleep without shackles. Would you care to wager if she would be standing by you come morning?”

  Rejji was stunned. “What makes you single her out?” he asked.

  “You did not answer my question,” Sebastian retorted. “I have a large bag in the back with my things. In it you will find a tin of bocco. Fetch it for me while you strive to come up with your answer.”

  Rejji crawled into the wagon to get the tin from Sebastian’s bag. He crawled over to Mistake and whispered that the merchant was considering the sale so that her spirits would lift a bit. He crawled back and found the large bag. The back held mostly clothes and Rejji felt around for the tin, but the bag was too fully packed for his hand to reach the bottom. He started pulling out clothes and piling them alongside the bag so he could locate the tin. Rejji halted when he lifted a black cloak out of the bag, a black cloak with a hood. He tried to visualize the gaudily clad merchant in the black cloak and couldn’t, and yet his discovery scared him greatly. He returned to searching the bag and eventually found the tin of bocco. He placed the tin on the floor and neatly put the clothes back into the bag. He closed the bag and grabbed the tin as he crawled back into the seat of the wagon.

  Sebastian pulled a pouch off his belt and handed it to Rejji. “Fill that with bocco for me, lad,” he said.

  “Did you have to wait long for us in the capital?” Rejji asked as he filled the pouch.

  “The timing of your return from Khadoratung was convenient for me,” answered Sebastian. “Have you thought of your answer?”

  “I have,” nodded Rejji as he handed the pouch to the merchant. “If I asked Mistake to stay in camp when she was unshackled, she would stay. Now that I have answered your question, answer mine. Why did you single her out as one who would run?”

  Sebastian handed the reins to Rejji and stuffed his pipe with bocco. Rejji waited patiently as the merchant lit the pipe with a striker. After Sebastian had the pipe well lit, he reached over and took the reins from Rejji.

  “A number of observations led me to the conclusion that she is a runner,” smiled Sebastian. “First, she is an inside slave. As such, she is normally not allowed out of the mansion, especially unescorted. Yet after our arrival today, you had to escort her into the mansion. Additional, she was in tears and had obviously just been through a rather emotional time.”

  Sebastian smiled at Rejji and continued, “Secondly, you no longer had the rather heavy pouch under your tunic that you did on the trip from Khadoratung, yet you had not yet returned to your quarters to hide it. Thirdly, two Pikata soldiers came to my wagon looking to see what I had to sell. As their last payday is a distant memory for them and soldiers are notorious for spending their gold as soon as they get it,
it was obvious that they had just come into some newfound gold. When I questioned them about it, they were nervous and moved away from the wagon. Therefore, I believe it was ill gotten gains that they did not wish others to know about.”

  Sebastian smiled as he watched Rejji’s jaw drop. “That was a dangerous gamble on your part,” the merchant stated. “You must care for her a great deal.”

  “I do,” agreed Rejji. “Were you ever in the Inn of the Rose in Khadoratung?”

  Sebastian’s eyebrows rose as he replied, “I have been in almost every inn in Khadora at one time or another.”

  “I meant recently,” Rejji pushed. “Like shortly before we departed Khadoratung. Wearing a black cloak perhaps?”

  “I don’t feel a need to report my travels to a slave,” Sebastian said brusquely. “We are going to test your theory tonight though. The girl will sleep without shackles. In the morning we shall see how loyal she is to you. Perhaps the boy as well. Do you think he is also loyal to you?”

  “Bakhai?” Rejji asked. “He has never shown any thought of escaping.”

  “That was not the question,” Sebastian persisted. “Is he loyal enough to you to avoid the temptation?”

  “I have never asked for his loyalty,” frowned Rejji. “What game is this you are playing at? Do you wish the three of us to attempt to escape so that you may have sport by tracking us down and killing us? The rest of the slaves are old women. Perhaps they can not provide you with enough challenge?”

  Sebastian remained silent and Rejji decided not to push the issue any further until he could sort out his feelings and suspicions. He felt confident that Sebastian was the mystery man from Khadoratung, but why would he spend days spying on a young slave? It made no sense and now he was proposing the most ludicrous thing of all, setting up an escape opportunity that almost nobody could resist. Rejji knew there was catch in all this, but what it was escaped him. Should they try to make good their escape? What was the purpose of showing their loyalty to a merchant when he was just delivering them to another master?

  Rejji was still trying to make sense of it all when Sebastian pulled off the road and took a small trail to a clearing beside an icy brook. The campsite was not well used, but it was obvious that Sebastian had been here before. Sebastian jumped off the wagon and turned to face Rejji.

  “Unshackle all of the slaves,” Sebastian ordered. “Have Bakhai tend to the horses and some of the women can get a meal started. There is a large case at the rear of the wagon. You will find food supplies in there. I will be back in a while. I am holding you responsible for the slaves remaining in the camp. Their safety is in your hands.”

  Sebastian walked back along the trail they had come in and Mistake waited until he was out of sight.

  “Let’s send the women in one direction while the three of us go in another,” she offered. “If he tries to track us, he will end up following them.”

  Chapter 12

  Fardale

  The twenty female slaves, who had been loaded on the merchant’s wagon before the Fakarans, were all jabbering excitedly. Some wanted to run away with Mistake and others feared the almost certain death that was delivered to runaway slaves. The campsite was in chaos.

  “Stop,” shouted Rejji. “Everyone stop and listen to me.”

  Silence erupted throughout the campsite as everyone turned to Rejji, everyone except Bakhai, who appeared to be having a conversation with a bird on his upraised arm.

  “You shouldn’t shout,” admonished Mistake. “He might have heard you.”

  “Look,” Rejji sighed, “doesn’t it appear a little strange to you that this merchant, who is by himself, would unshackle all of us and then simply walk away? Do none of you recognize a trap when you see one?”

  Murmurs of agreement rippled through the women captives, but Mistake remained defiant. “He is probably just careless,” Mistake offered. “Or perhaps he believes his boy will watch us for him. I, for one, do not wish to be a slave.”

  Mistake’s rebuke stung Rejji as he realized he was the only one who had not been shackled, but he still felt that this was a test of some kind and that there really was little chance of escape.

  “This man is no fool,” Rejji stated. “He is testing us to see if we will attempt escape. I am sure he must have confederates in these woods. We should do as he asked and prepare the campsite and the evening meal.”

  “How could he have arranged to have men waiting for him at this particular spot when he could not have known when he was leaving the estate?” argued one of the female slaves.

  Rejji stared at Bakhai, who stood with his empty arm raised above him, as he answered, “It is clear that the merchant knows this site. I think his men could just wait for him to show up here whenever he came.”

  “You are just wasting our time with guesses,” scowled Mistake. “We should leave before he returns.”

  “He does not need a lot of men to trap us,” declared Bakhai, who had the same bird as before, now perched on his arm. “We are in a canyon with only one exit. To flee we would have to leave the way we came in.”

  Mistake whirled to look at Bakhai and frowned when she saw the bird. “There are still twenty-three of us,” she proclaimed. “How can he stop us all?”

  “Bakhai,” called Rejji, “see to the horses. Some of you women who would like the chance to prepare a meal, please start one now. If nobody wants to cook, then let me know and I shall do it. I am not running away.”

  ***

  Sebastian completed the wire across the trail and hid the telltale signs as best he could. He retrieved the bow and arrows from the small cave and took a position where he could see the trail for a long distance. He did not like playing these games with the mage slaves, but he needed to know about the Fakarans. In fact, he needed to know the truth about them before he reached his destination. Too much was at stake to be careless with security.

  Movement in the distance alerted his keen eyes and he swept the forest for any sign of the runners. He detected the movement again and caught a glimpse of a brown streak between two trees deep in the forest. He focused on the spot with all of his concentration and identified Mistake as she sped to another tree.

  Sebastian blinked his eyes as he tried to keep track of Mistake, but the speed of the young girl was amazing. Sebastian had never seen anyone move with such speed. One minute she appeared to be in one place, and in a moment she was somewhere else. Sebastian only had a sense of having seen a brown blur in between the two points. If he had not been purposely watching, he would never have spotted her. He frowned at the realization that she had chosen to run. It made his purchase a foolish one. Now he would have to figure out what to do with his Fakarans. He could not take them where he had planned to.

  Sebastian did not want to kill the young girl, so he planned to send an arrow streaking into a tree near her to get her to surrender. As he prepared to let his arrow fly, he saw a blur of brown as Mistake dove from behind the tree and landed in the center of the road. She stood defiantly in the open and called his name.

  “Sebastian,” called Mistake. “I know you are here. I have been sent to tell you that the food is ready. Better hurry if you want your meal hot.”

  Sebastian’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but he did not move. He had seen better deceptions in his time than this feeble attempt.

  “At least acknowledge me,” called Mistake, “so I can eat my food before it cools.”

  Sebastian remained silent and waited for her to start running out of the canyon.

  “Have it your way,” she called. “I promised I would not seek you outside the canyon so this is as far as I can go. I will try to keep something warm for you.”

  Mistake turned and started walking back towards the campsite. Sebastian shook his head and watched her until she was out of sight. He rose and secured his bow and arrow in the small cave and trotted back to the camp. When he arrived he saw all twenty-three slaves sitting and talking and devouring a meal. The campsite came to s
ilence as his approach was noticed.

  “Ah I see the meal is ready,” Sebastian grinned. “It is good to see people who know how to work together.”

  Mistake rose and filled a bowl and then handed it to Sebastian. “Are you setting us free?” she asked sarcastically.

  Sebastian took the bowl and stared at the young woman. “No,” Sebastian responded. “It is not my place to do that.”

  Mistake’s eyes widened at his response. “You mean someone else is setting us free?” she quizzed. “Is that really going to happen?”

  “Why didn’t you run when you had the chance?” inquired the merchant.

  “It was not much of a chance you offered,” frowned Mistake.

  “We know we are in a dead canyon,” interjected Rejji. “You set us up to make us try to escape. Why?”

  “So the thought of escaping did enter your minds,” commented Sebastian. “The opportunity was just not to your liking?”

  “If you were being held a captive against your will for no fault of your own,” Rejji asked, “wouldn’t you contemplate escape? Of course the thought entered our minds. Why shouldn’t it? We are held captive only by fear of the harsh punishment that awaits our recapture. Perhaps you should try being the slave for a day and then you would appreciate what goes through our minds.”

  “I think I know,” Sebastian nodded sadly as he rose and headed for the stream.

  Rejji followed after Sebastian. “If you truly know,” continued Rejji, “then why do you play these heartbreaking games with us? It is better that you keep us in chains so we are not tortured with indecision.”

  “I am sorry,” Sebastian frowned. “There is more to this than my desire to toy with you. For the twenty mage slaves, my moves are not necessary. They are used to their enslavement and the resolution of their bondage will please them well. You and your friends are different. I am not sure I can explain it in a way that you will find satisfactory.”

  “Try me,” offered Rejji. “I know that our purchase was not an accident. I know that you were observing me in Khadoratung, and you pointedly avoided speaking to me on the long journey back to the Pikata estate. Why are you interested in me?”