The Andarian Affair

by Jones, Loren K.

  Stavin stood and bowed deeply. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

  The king signaled another servant forward. “Take Prince Stavin to the guest suite and see that he has everything he needs.”

  The servant bowed and then walked to Stavin’s side. “Please follow me, Prince Stavin.” At Stavin’s nod, he led the way out of the council chamber.

  Chapter 49

  THE SUITE THAT STAVIN WAS LED to was opulent. Gold leaf and filigree was everywhere. Tapestries covered every wall. Carpets that looked like new covered every inch of the floor. Every piece of furniture was padded and upholstered with exquisite care. It was the kind of suite that visiting royalty used and it took a moment for that to sink in. I am visiting royalty.

  The servant bowed deeply and asked, “Is there anything you wish, Prince Stavin?”

  Stavin thought for a moment, then nodded. “Find out where my guards are being housed and bring Warmaster Kel’Carin and twenty others back with you. The Warmaster will choose who comes.”

  The servant looked frightened. “Your guards, Your Highness?”

  That caught Stavin off guard and he sputtered a little before he answered. “Yes, my guards. King Kalin will probably skin me for not having my escort with me when I first came into the palace.”

  The servant bowed deeply and fled while Stavin walked around the suite. “Your Highness,” he mused aloud in the empty room. “That’s the first time anyone has called me that.”

  It didn’t take the servant long to return with Barvil and the others, including Karvik. “Is there a problem, Prince Stavin?” Barvil asked as soon as they arrived.

  “No, Sir. I just thought I should behave like a prince and have the Royal Guards around me. King Kalin was very insistent about it when I was in Twin Bridges.”

  Barvil nodded as he looked around the suite. “Nice place,” was all he said.

  Karvik was examining the room as well and ended by the bed. He felt the soft blankets and springy mattress and grinned at Stavin. “Good bed. Where are you going to sleep?”

  “Karvik,” Barvil said in a warning tone, but Stavin and the rest of the men were laughing.

  Stavin gestured toward a side door. “There are beds in there for ten. I guess traveling royalty means lots of servants. I was thinking ten on guard, and ten sleeping. Karvik and I can share the big bed.” He snorted at the looks he received. “Why not? It’s bigger than our tent.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ll be in it alone,” Barvil said as he looked Stavin. “We’ll do the same thing you did in Twin Bridges: Someone is going to be sleeping on that sofa across the door.” He pointed and two of the men immediately moved the sofa in question.

  Stavin said, “Yes, Sir. There’s a bathing chamber, and the water’s already hot. There’s good soap as well.”

  Karvik chuckled. “Good. I’d like to get cleaned up a little.”

  There was a knock at the door and Barvil motioned for it to be opened. When the two men closest to the door had moved the sofa, they opened the door and ten servants walked in.

  “Prince Stavin, I am Lari Fel’Jenkil,” the first man in said as he bowed. “I have been assigned as your butler since you didn’t bring any servants with you.”

  Stavin nodded. “Very well. Have extra charcoal brought for the water heater.” He turned and looked at Barvil. “Have you eaten, Sir?” Barvil shook his head. Looking at the butler, Stavin said, “Have food brought for all of us. Twenty-two,” he added when the butler seemed unsure of how many men there were.

  “Prince Stavin, you want your guards to eat with you?” Lari asked.

  “Of course,” Stavin answered.

  “As you command, Prince Stavin,” the butler said, then looked to the side at one of the women. “See to it. Take Jenal with you.” When the women had gone, Lari turned back to Stavin. “It will only take a short time, Prince Stavin. If you would care to retire to the bathing chamber, I will see to your bath.”

  Stavin shook his head. “Nope. No offense to you or your masters, but even in Evandia I see to myself. Drives the palace staff mad. We,’” he nodded to the warriors around him, “will be fine without servants.”

  “That is highly improper, Prince Stavin,” Lari said with just a hint of backbone.

  “That’s what King Kalin says as well,” Stavin answered. “He hasn’t convinced me yet, and neither will you. You can send for extra bath sheets. All of us are going to want to bathe. We’ve been on the road for quite a while.”

  It looked like Lari was going to argue the point, so Stavin laid his hand on the hilt of Shovar’s sword. Bright light surrounded him, making Lari and the other servants flinch back, then run for the door.

  Karvik was sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking his head in mock despair. “We’re never going to be able to civilize you.” There were sniggers from around the room as the rest of the warriors nodded their agreement.

  “That’s Shari’s job, not yours,” Stavin replied.

  “She needs our help,” one of the other warriors said as he sat in a finely upholstered chair. “Someone’s got to watch you when you’re away from home.”

  Half of the warriors had stripped down to their under padding by the time the servants returned with food. The women rolled two large serving carts laden with a wide variety of food into the suite, then looked around for the rest of the servants.

  Stavin said, “I sent them away. You can go as well. We’ll see to ourselves,” and waited for the confused women to leave before saying, “Let me look at the food before anyone touches it.” He received strange looks from everyone, but they stepped back as he laid his hand on the sword. To his magically enhanced vision, one dish stood out. “There is something wrong with the figs. I can’t tell what, but don’t touch them.”

  Barvil nodded. “You heard him: No figs. Eat lightly, men. I don’t want anyone bloated or groggy because they ate too much. And I don’t want anyone out of the fight with the trots, either.” There was some laughter at that comment, but these were all experienced veterans. They knew the dangers as well as Barvil did.

  The warriors were done eating in just a few moments. Stavin said, “I’m going to dump the figs in the necessary,” to Barvil and received a nod of approval. He put his gauntlets back on and carried the dish to the necessary and dumped the figs. He set the dish back where it had been and smiled. “Let them think we ate them.”

  One of the men opened the door to summon someone to take the carts and found Lari standing against the far wall. At the warrior’s gesture, he walked into the suite.

  Stavin saw him and the look on his face and sighed. “You were sent back, weren’t you?”

  “Yes, Prince Stavin.”

  Stavin sighed. “Very well. Have the carts returned to the kitchens. Did you send for more bath sheets?”

  “Yes, Prince Stavin.”

  Stavin nodded and walked away, leaving Barvil facing Lari.

  Barvil said, “Summon some help. If we’re not going to be able to get rid of you, we’ll use you.”

  Lari walked to the door and opened it. He made a gesture and all of the servants came back in. He detailed the same two women to take the carts back to the kitchens, then had the rest start straightening up the suite.

  The warriors started filing through the bathing room, and the servants watched curiously as the men stripped one at a time and waited until the previous man was dressed again before the next man went in. The first ten men through went to bed immediately. The rest set their guard positions and continued bathing one man at a time. Stavin waited until the warriors were settled before he approached Lari again.

  “You can all go. We’ll be fine until morning. You can go ahead and arrange the morning meal for us.”

  Lari bowed deeply. “We’re supposed to stay, Prince Stavin.”

  “There’s no room for you,” Stavin replied. “If there’s truly a problem with my dismissing you, invite your superior to come speak with me about it. I’ll explain it to him.”

&n
bsp; Lari looked frightened by that idea and led the servants out of the room. Barvil again had the sofa placed across the door, then had two of the men who were on watch sit on it.

  Stavin climbed into the big bed and drifted off to sleep almost immediately. He was aware of the men moving around the room, but only as far as being comforted by the familiar sounds of men on watch.

  It was well past mid night when something intruded on his consciousness, and he opened his eyes a little. The warriors seemed to be all right. Two men were playing flip-stones while three others watched. Other men were standing near the door or window. He was about to close his eyes when he looked at the men playing flip-stones again. They hadn’t moved at all.

  Stavin had, as always, put his under padding back on before he went to bed, and now he reached out to grasp the hilt of Shovar’s sword. No glow engulfed him because he wasn’t wearing his gauntlet, but he was still armed when a panel by the fireplace opened and three men slipped into the room.

  “They are disabled,” the first man said as he looked around, “just as the mage said they would be. Take the prince. The others are of no use to us.”

  The other two men moved toward the bed, and Stavin let them come. When they pulled back the blankets, he struck. The man on his right died with the dragon blade through his heart, and the second man died a moment later as the sword cut him nearly in half. Stavin bounded out of bed and fell into a ready stance as the remaining man stared at him in disbelief.

  “Did you really think a human mage could overcome the magic of a dragon?” he asked in a low, intense tone. The man started back toward the secret door, but Stavin beat him to it and drove him to his knees with a blow to the head. He used the flat of the blade so the man was rendered unconscious, not killed.

  Stavin looked around and saw Barvil asleep on the sofa. He walked over and shook him, but there was no waking him that way. Shaking his head, Stavin went to the pitcher of water and poured a glass, then went to one of the other warriors and threw the water in his face. The reaction was immediate.

  “Ah! Stavin, you little bastard!” the man shouted, but Stavin was well out of reach.

  “Aldar!” Stavin snapped. “You were asleep on watch.”

  “What?” Aldar asked as he blinked to clear the water from his eyes. He looked around and saw that no one had reacted to his shouts. “What happened?”

  “Magic. Those men were supposed to take me.” He pointed to the bodies, and it seemed that Aldar was just then noticing that Stavin had the sword in his hand. “Wake the others, but be careful. They’re going to be as mad as you were.”

  “Why?”

  Stavin grinned. “Because the only way to wake them is going to be by splashing water in their faces.”

  Once the shouting and cursing was done, Barvil led Stavin and the others over to where the surviving man was tied. “Wake him,” he commanded and two of the warriors set about waking the man. When he looked up at the men surrounding him, he started begging.

  “Please, lords. I was only following orders.”

  “Whose orders?” Barvil asked.

  The man opened his mouth to speak, but no sound emerged. Instead he began to choke, and was dead in just a few blinks of the eye. Barvil shook his head and looked at Stavin. “We should have expected that.”

  Stavin nodded and looked toward the men by the door. “Summon aid,” was all he needed to say. The men stepped out into the hallway and started bellowing for the guards. Soon a brace of Palace Guards were in the room examining the dead men.

  “He just died?” one of the guardsmen asked as he looked up from where he knelt by the man who had choked to death.

  “When he was about to tell us who he was taking his orders from,” Barvil said.

  The guardsman nodded and looked at his fellows. “Bring the rest. Prince Stavin, you should remain here.”

  “I don’t think so,” Stavin said, startling the man. He looked over to where the man he’d cut in half had lain. The floor was darkly stained. “Not with the smell of death so pungent in here. We’ll be joining the rest of our men.”

  The guardsmen seemed like they wanted to argue, but Stavin and the rest of the warriors ignored them. At Stavin’s nod, Barvil simply led them out of the suite.

  The barracks where the rest of their men were billeted was easy to find, and the sleepy colonel who met them simply directed them to empty beds. Everyone stripped out of their plate, but remained in their mail as they laid down to rest until dawn.

  Chapter 50

  STAVIN JOINED THE REST OF THE warriors at morning meal with the Andarian Royal Guards, and had almost finished eating when a terrified-looking Lari came to find him.

  “Prince Stavin, thank the Gods Above I found you. His Majesty is in a terrible rage over you being attacked last night and wants you to attend him immediately.”

  Stavin stuffed the remnants of his eggs in his mouth and took a long drink of kava before standing. Barvil, Karvik, and eighteen other warriors followed his example. “Lead the way, Lari,” Stavin said as the warriors formed up behind him.

  “Prince Stavin, what about them?” Lari asked as he looked at the warriors with fear obvious in his expression.

  Stavin shrugged. “Royal Guardsmen. Is there a problem?”

  A man in the uniform of an Andarian Royal Guards General walked up beside Stavin and bowed slightly. “Prince Stavin, I assure you that you are safe in the palace.”

  Stavin turned to look up at the general and tilted his head to the side. “The three dead men in my suite wouldn’t agree with you, Sir. Warmaster Kel’Carin and his men will accompany me.”

  The general looked at Barvil, then bowed his head slightly. “Very well, Prince Stavin. My men and I will accompany you as well.” Behind him a group of officers were forming ranks, and it seemed like there was one of them for each of Stavin’s guards.

  Stavin bowed his head slightly and turned to Lari, motioning for him to lead. The servant led them through the palace, back to the council chamber. Barvil and the rest stopped outside the door and took positions against the right-hand wall, and the Andarians took the left-hand wall, facing them. Stavin irreverently wondered if they were going to have a staring contest, but let Lari lead him into the council chamber and close the door.

  King Jallat looked up as Stavin entered, and stood. “I was informed that three men attacked you last night, Prince Stavin. Are you truly all right?”

  Stavin bowed deeply. “Yes, Your Majesty. The mage who cast the spell for them wasn’t very good.”

  “Mage?” the king asked. “Are you certain?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” He gave the king a full report of the incident.

  “It would seem that my court needs to be weeded more thoroughly, Prince Stavin. I considered your proposal last night. I couldn’t think of much else. Inform King Kalin that Andaria is amenable to this idea. The additional territory will give us the room to expand that my lords want, and imposing some sort of order on the Farindian border will enhance our security.”

  Stavin bowed very deeply. “I will take great pleasure in delivering your message to King Kalin, Your Majesty. I assume that it will be next summer before a formal accord can be reached, but I believe that he will agree as well.” Stavin paused and shook his head. “Princess Marina can be very persuasive.”

  “You sound like you speak from experience, Prince Stavin,” the king said with a wide grin.

  Stavin sighed. “Oh, yes, Your Majesty. Oh, yes.”

  King Jallat chuckled. “I have already had the necessary documents drawn up and properly sealed.” He motioned toward a dozen sealed message tubes. “You can take them back to Evandia with you.”

  Stavin bowed again. “This went much more smoothly than I had anticipated, Your Majesty. With your permission, I would like to make an early start toward home today.”

  King Jallat nodded. “Go with our thanks, Prince Stavin. And rest assured that I will find out who else was involved in this plot. I dislike
being played for a fool, and the fact that they thought they could attack you while you were under my roof is infuriating.”

  Stavin bowed deeply and picked up the message tubes, then let Lari escort him out of the room.

  Barvil saw him come out and asked, “Is there a problem, Prince Stavin?”

  “No, Sir,” Stavin answered automatically. “We’re done. King Jallat has provided me with messages to King Kalin concerning the annexation. He likes the proposal. Now we have to go to Twin Bridges and see King Kalin.”

  “And hope he likes it as well,” Karvik observed.

  * * *

  It took half the day to get out of Deralvad, and Stavin let Barvil place thirty men in front of them. He was preoccupied with the idea that Farindia might soon be a footnote in a history book.

  As with their trip in, it took seventeen days to reach the border. There was no fort here, just a standard guard post, and they passed Stavin without any questions. It took twenty-three more days to reach Twin Bridges.

  Stavin led the way to the Chosen Gate and was amused as the guardsmen recognized him and knelt. He led everyone to the palace and reported to King Kalin as soon as he got cleaned up.

  King Kalin was in council, and Stavin was passed into the council chamber immediately. “Stavin, welcome home,” King Kalin said as he stood and rapidly walked around the table. Before Stavin could kneel, the king had wrapped him in a tight embrace.

  “I am happy to be back, Your Majesty,” Stavin said, though his voice was muffled by the king’s shirt.

  King Kalin chuckled. “Come, have a seat. What did you do up in Andaria?” Stavin accepted a seat at the king’s left hand. He had almost made it to the seat when someone else called his name.

  “Stavi!” Marina shouted as she burst into the chamber and rounded the table. She grabbed him in an even tighter embrace for a moment, then stepped back and smacked him on the head. “I told you not to die.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “You tried,” Marina snapped as she stepped back from him. “I heard what you did.”