Stavin looked down and saw what he'd missed before: The girl's hands were tied and there was a gag in her mouth. "I think I'll ask her about that," he said as he stepped forward.
The man who had bragged about killing valley warriors drew a sword and took a step forward, only to stop in his tracks when he finally got a good look at Stavin. "Gold!" he shouted. "He's covered in gold! It's mine!" With that final shout, he attacked.
Stavin struck before the man could touch him, using the extra reach his Dragon's Tongue gave him to drive a blade through the man's sword as he tried to block and on into his chest. A look of stunned disbelief came across the man's face as he slowly knelt, then fell over dead. Stavin had to take a moment to worry the sword off his Dragon's Tongue while Marvat and Aldric covered the other man.
"Fool," was all Stavin could say as he looked down at the dead man. "No one would wear real gold as armor." Stavin walked over to the girl and said, "Hold your hands out." When she didn't seem to understand him, he pantomimed what he wanted and she complied so he could cut her bonds.
The girl immediately clawed the gag from her mouth and all but shouted, "Vah Sha Tavat! Vah Sha Tavat Sho Kaval!"
"You see? She's an idiot!" the large man laughed. "All she ever does is spout that gibberish."
Stavin said, "Tava Kah Han," and the girl obeyed, climbing to her feet and limping to get behind him. Turning to the man he snarled, "That's Old Tongue, you idiot! She says you stole her from her family."
"Hah!" the man laughed loudly. "Her word against mine. Who would believe an ignorant little--?"
"I would," Master Trader Sahren snapped as she came forward. "I would believe just about anyone over you, Pahvan." She looked at the girl and her posture changed. She had been angry before, but now her body language screamed rage. She screamed, "You hunk of dogshit!" and the man took off at a dead run with her close on his heels.
Barvil shouted, "Stavin! Aldric! After her," and the two young men went chasing after their employer.
The man had run for his wagon and Sahren caught up to him just before he got there, hitting him in the back and sending him stumbling face-first into the side of the wagon. There was a loud thud and a sickening crunch, then he fell on his back and didn't move. That didn't stop Sahren from driving the heel of her boot down on his crotch several times.
"You boys stay back," she commanded when Stavin and Aldric reached her. When they had stopped, she walked to the back of the wagon and opened it. "Oh Gods! Gods Below curse his black soul," she cried as she backed away, one hand coming up to her mouth. There were tears in her eyes as she turned toward them. "Stavin, give me your Dragon's Tongue, but stay back," she commanded and Stavin obeyed. There was the brittle sound of iron breaking under the dragon-scale blade, and then the sound of weeping children.
Barvil jogged up and past his men, looking at the unconscious man as he passed. Walking to the back of the wagon, he stopped dead in his tracks when Sahren turned toward him with tears still in her eyes.
"What is it?" he asked when he saw her expression.
She whispered, "Pahvan is under a death sentence from the Council in Aravad if he is ever caught trafficking in children again, so he hid them. He hid them so well that some of them died."
Barvil looked at the unconscious man and said, "Stavin, Aldric, drag him over so his head is under the water barrel." When his men had done as he commanded he checked to see how full the barrel was and nodded in satisfaction. Standing back, he cut the rope that held the barrel in place and pulled it forward, letting it fall on the man's head. There was a wet crunch as the barrel landed and the body shook for a moment, then everything was still.
Two of Sahren's people had arrived by then and they joined her as she tried to get the children free without hurting them further. Barvil returned Stavin's Dragon's Tongue and pointed. "You two get back on guard. Stavin, tell that girl to stay where she is until I come for her. And get her a blanket or something. She looks like she’s wearing a grain sack. Tell Marvat what has happened and make sure Farval knows as well when the watch changes hands."
Stavin and Aldric both snapped, "Yes, Sir," and returned to their duty. Stavin gave the girl his own blanket, and gave Marvat a brief summary of the event. He had to jog to get back between Aldric and Vardik when he was done.
As Stavin was turning the watch over to Karvik, he heard a shout from the direction of Pahvan’s wagon. He turned, and saw it blazing like a torch. He nodded to himself. That’s fitting. Three of the six children in that wagon died. It looked like Sahren was turning their prison into their pyre.
Stavin found all three of the surviving children sharing his blanket and shrugged. His armor was sufficient to keep him warm at this time of year. He also noticed a large pile of goods that seemed out of place until it dawned on him that Sahren wouldn't have burned the wagon without getting everything valuable out of it first.
He had one more duty to perform before he could go to bed and that was to search the man he'd killed and collect his due. He found Barvil at the body. "Another ruined sword, and a good one this time," Barvil said as Stavin walked up.
"He bragged that he'd killed several of our people," Stavin said as he took the sword. It was cut almost completely in half.
"Well, that's not one of ours. No armor, just a sword, a knife, and this," Barvil said as he tossed a purse in the air.
Stavin caught the purse and opened it, then dumped the coins in his hand. "Six silver, nine copper," he said as he poured the coins back into the pouch.
Barvil nodded. "Come on. I'll help you drag him over to the fire and shove him in with his friend." Stavin and Barvil each grabbed an arm and dealt with the corpse as if it were any other piece of trash, then went to bed.
Chapter 6
THE MORNING WAS ANNOUNCED BY BIRDSONG. Stavin briefly wished them all dead so he could go back to sleep. He rolled over and reached for his blanket, but his searching fingers didn't find it. As he came more fully awake, he remembered where it was. He stumbled out of his tent and dealt with the necessities of life before rolling up his and Karvik's gear. The smell of food soon drew him to the center of the wagons.
"Stavin," Trader Sahren said soon as she saw him, "come over here." Stavin altered his path and stopped when he saw the children. "I don't speak Old Tongue fluently enough. She talks so fast, I can hardly understand her."
Stavin knelt and the girl looked at him with big, frightened eyes. "You are safe," Stavin said in Old Tongue. "The evil ones are dead."
"Where am I? What is this place?" the girl asked very timidly as she looked around.
"You are in the Land of Kavad. The Land of Evand is two hundred paces west. Where are you from?" Stavin asked.
"The mountains," the girls said simply.
"Which mountains?"
"The mountains. Where my family is," the girls said in a tone that made it clear she thought Stavin was a half-wit.
"There are many mountains. What land are they in?" Stavin asked, trying to be patient.
"Don't know."
Stavin looked up and told everyone what he'd learned so far. Sahren was nodding her understanding when he finished. "A lot of isolated communities don't associate themselves with a kingdom," she explained. "Ask her how long she's been a captive."
Stavin did and the response was chilling. "The leaves had just turned when they stole me. I lost count after fifty."
Stavin finally thought of a question that he should have asked first and asked, "What is your name?"
The girl said, "Amarna. What's yours?"
"I am Stavin, of the Cat Clan of Aniston."
“Oh,” the girl said brightly, "I'm from the Chosen Clan of Hallan." There was a murmur of interest when the girl said Zel'Hallan. If she was really from a Chosen clan, she had to be turned over to the king--which Kavadia didn't have.
Stavin looked at the other children and asked, "Amarna, are these girls your sisters?"
"No, I don't know them. They don't speak the language,"
Amarna replied.
Stavin switched to the common tongue and spoke to the other two girls. "What are your names?"
"I'm Orvini," the little redhead said softly.
"I'm Morinis," the little blonde said when it was her turn.
"I am Stavin Kel'Aniston," Stavin said with a slight bow. "Where are you from?"
"Halafia," Morinis said.
"I'm from Kel'Arkan's Ford," Orvini volunteered.
Sahren interrupted Stavin before he could ask anything else. "Let's get everyone fed and get going. We can figure out what to do with these girls once we are in Evandia."
The girls ate like they were starving, wolfing their morning meal as if fearing that the food was going to be taken away at any moment. When they were done, they were each placed with one of Sahren's family for the trip. Amarna was placed with Kethlan, because he could speak Old Tongue better than any of the traders except Sahren.
Stavin spoke to Amarna again before riding forward. "Amarna, this is Kethlan. He speaks your language poorly, so you have to speak slowly for him to understand you."
"Don't leave me!" Amarna whimpered and Kethlan patted her hand.
"Don't you fret, child. Old Kethlan will take care of you. Let Stavin go tend to his duties."
Stavin rode forward and joined Trader Sahren at the front. "Amarna is settled with Kethlan, but she doesn't like it," he said as he slowed his horse to a walk.
"She'll adjust. Ride ahead and introduce yourself to the border guards," she commanded and Stavin urged a little more speed out of his mount.
The soldiers at the border crossing saw him coming and called their officer out to meet him. "You'd be Friend Stavin," the officer, an old lieutenant, said as he swept Stavin with a curious gaze. "Let me see your writ, if you have one."
Stavin handed his writ to the lieutenant and he opened it, then snapped to attention. "F-Friend Stavin, forgive me," he stammered, bowing deeply. "We've had five men through here in gold-painted armor claiming to be you. Several even had fake writs. Your forgiveness, Sir, but we still have to search the wagons to determine what the tax would have been."
"I understand," Stavin said as he turned away.
"Your pardon, Sir," a sergeant said to catch Stavin's attention. "What was that disturbance last night?"
Stavin paused and said, "The worst of Kavadia: A child seller. We rescued the children and--dealt with the scum."
"Yes, Sir. So long as it wasn't on Evandian soil, that's fine by us," the sergeant said with a sharp nod.
"And if it had been on Evandian soil?" Stavin asked with a distinct edge to his voice.
"Then we would have been very sorry to hear that a wagon had burned with the trader in it, but these things happen," the lieutenant said as he stepped aside. Stavin simply nodded and turned his horse back toward the caravan.
The border guards did a quick and slip-shod job searching the wagons. Stavin frowned at that. Even if Trader Sahren wasn't going to pay any hard coin, he felt that these men should still do their jobs. The value of Sahren's trade goods was assessed at one hundred and thirty gold crowns. The lieutenant wrote the figure in his book and asked Stavin to sign for the six gold and five silver crowns of the tax.
The caravan moved on, heading south-west toward Twin Bridges. It was off the route that Trader Sahren had planned, but the presence of Amarna made it necessary. The other girls could have been turned over to any orphanage along their path, but a Chosen child had to be turned over to the king. It was a holdover from the days of the empire when the Chosen Clans had ruled all those beneath them, and to have laid violent hands on a child of a Chosen Clan would have resulted in immediate death for a member of a Common, Honored, or even Revered Clan.
Stavin spent a lot of time thinking as he rode next to the number six wagon. He was better-read than just about any of his generation, and he'd read of the horrors of Kavadia, but this was the first time he'd ever seen the reality.
Slavery was not allowed in Kavinston, so he hadn't had any direct exposure to it. Child slavery was an abomination he'd hardly even considered to be real. The things he'd read about, of child-rape and slavery in child-brothels, had turned his stomach. He'd subconsciously believed that such horrors were all in the past, part of Kavadia's lawless era after the fall of the empire. Even at its worst, most barbaric time, Farindia had never fallen so low. Or at least he'd never read of it if it had. Finding out that Kavadia still had such abominations made him wish he'd never set foot there. Gods Below, this is going to tear Shari up. I’m just glad she doesn’t have to see it.
It took the caravan three days to reach the first major city in Evandia. Being so close to Kavadia had caused the people of Kolovad to maintain the walls around their city for protection, but the caravansary and livestock market were outside the city walls.
Trader Sahren and her people formed the familiar crescent of trade and opened their wagons as soon as the animals had been seen to. Barvil kept all ten of his men on guard for the first few spans, but once the crowd had settled down he sent Farval's hand to rest while Marvat's hand continued their rounds.
Stavin was watching the crowd so he didn't realized that he had company until a hand clasped his arm. The contact was a shock and he jumped away, landing with his Dragon's Tongue at the ready.
Amarna giggled at his reaction. "You act like you're afraid of me," she finally said in Old Tongue.
"Not afraid, Amarna, just surprised to find you there when I thought I was alone," Stavin replied in the same language as he resumed his rounds.
Amarna stayed by Stavin's side as he walked. "Do you know what will happen to me?"
"We are taking you to the king in Twin Bridges. He has a much better chance of finding your family and returning you to them than we would have."
Amarna was quiet for a while as she continued to walk beside Stavin. After a time she said, "Kethlan says you're DragonBlessed."
Stavin looked at her and nodded. "A dragon made my armor and weapon from its own scales, and gave them to me as a reward for bravery."
"My grandfather is DragonBlessed, too," Amarna said in a near whisper. "I miss my family."
"The King of the Land of Evand will do everything he can to return you to them again," Stavin assured her, but the look in her eyes told him how little that reassurance meant. Gods Above, I wish I could do more.
When Stavin's watch ended, Amarna was still by his side. She joined him at the evening meal, sitting as close to him as she could.
Barvil saw them and smiled. "It looks like she's decided to adopt you, Stavin," he said with a chuckle.
"Yes, Sir," Stavin answered. "I'd like to see about getting all three girls something else to wear, Sir. None of our traders have any clothes that will fit them."
"Are you thinking of castoffs?" Barvil asked, giving Stavin a sideways look.
Stavin nodded. "Yes, Sir. According to Kethlan, cities like this have places in their bazaars where clothes that Chosen children have out-grown are sold to lesser houses," he replied carefully.
"They do in many of the bazaars we visited last season as well, though you might not have noticed. Very well. Mar, take your hand with him. Stavin, see if you can get one of the traders to go with you," Barvil commanded and all five of his men snapped, "Yes, Sir!"
Stavin went to Trader Sahren as soon as everyone had eaten. He waited until she finished the bargain she was engaged with, then stepped forward. "Excuse me, Trader Sahren. We are going to the clothes sellers to see if we can find Amarna and the others something different to wear," he said as Sahren turned toward him.
"That is quite generous of you, Stavin. What can I do to help?"
"I need someone who can out-haggle a lowland merchant to keep me from being cheated, please, if you have anyone to spare?" he asked and was surprised by her laugh.
"Rahlina, come over here," Sahren said and her granddaughter quickly came to her side. "Rahli, Friend Stavin needs someone to go with him to the clothes sellers to buy our foundlings some more o
utfits. Go along and lend a hand bargaining. It'll be good experience for both of you."
Rahlina nodded her understanding. "Yes, Nanny Sahren. We'll collect the other girls and take them with us as well. It'll be easier to get things that almost fit that way."
Amarna grasped Stavin's forearm to get his attention. "What is happening?"
"We are going to go buy you and the other girls some clothes. They won't be new, but they will be different, and better than what you are wearing," he explained as they walked up the line of wagons.
When the other two girls were with them, Marvat gave his orders to his men. "Stave, stay in front with Trader Rahlina. Sharvit and I will be in the back. I want the girls surrounded to keep them safe."
The four junior members of the hand snapped, "Yes, Sergeant Kel'Sangran."
Stavin and Rahlina led with Amarna between them and the rest of the warriors formed a pocket to surround Morinis and Orvini. The group walked at a slower than normal pace to accommodate the girls, and soon they were at the gates of the city.
"What is your purpose in Kolovad?" the elder of the guards asked.
"We are going to purchase goods in your bazaar, good Sir," Stavin replied.
The guard was looking carefully at Stavin. "Are you Friend Stavin?"
"I am," Stavin confirmed with a slight bow.
A younger man in a lieutenant's uniform stepped forward and bowed. "Friend Stavin, welcome to Kolovad. We don't normally allow armed warriors into the city," he paused to glance at the Warriors, "but we will make an exception for your escort."
Stavin bowed his thanks, then walked into the city with his friends, carefully not correcting the guard lieutenant.
Rahlina received directions to the proper portion of the bazaar from a carpet merchant, who kept casting nervous glances at the hand of warriors behind her.
The Kolovad bazaar was located inside the city walls, and filled the streets closest to the wall with shops and stalls of every description. Streets that radiated into the city held specific groups of merchants, be they cloth, spice, metal smiths, or food vendors.
Traders and Traitors (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 2) Page 4