Keep on the Borderlands

by Ru Emerson - (ebook by Flandrel; Undead)

  “I do. Sort of. Sometimes. But he’s… impetuous. Trouble. Remember the fight he started last time we met up with him?”

  “I remember.” The youth cast up his eyes. “Because we slept in the stable that night after getting kicked out of the inn.”

  “Well, that’s Jerdren for you,” Eddis said resignedly. “You just never know what he’ll do, but you do know it’ll be loud and probably involve fists. That’s fine for some village where the worst that happens is the people around him get shoved into the stable for the night. The Keep—they’ll shove you into the dungeon and leave you there.”

  M’Whan shook his head. “He knows that too, doesn’t he?”

  “I think so. Gods, I hope so. Still, why would that stop—”

  A cheerful, carrying voice filled the room, silencing her and briefly quieting most of the chatter around them.

  “By my father’s white beard, it’s never Eddis, is it?” Jerdren strode over to clap her on the shoulder. “I haven’t seen you since…” He considered this and shrugged it aside.

  “Since the ale house in Lower Vale,” Eddis said, mildly enough. “The one where you and those two village louts got in a fight over the barmaid and got all of us tossed out.”

  “Why—so it was.” He seemed surprised by this, then grinned again. “But I didn’t get you tossed out, Eddis! Hey, no, you punched that red-faced brother of hers in the—”

  “I didn’t punch him until he grabbed my—never mind.” Eddis scowled up at him. “Damn all, Jers, why is it that every other time we run into each other, you’ve either been in a fight or are about to pick one? Not just Lower Vale, but Hillside, Rivers-Edge and Bally?”

  She slapped the table, lowered her voice as M’Baddah touched the back of her near hand. “Sorry, M’Baddah. All the same, you’re a curse, Jerdren, that’s what you are. And frankly, if you plan on starting a fight here, or even if you don’t plan one…” She drew a deep breath and let it out in a hard gust. “Well, you’d better find someplace else to sit, or I swear I’ll—”

  “Ouch,” Blorys put in wryly and offered her a shy grin.

  Eddis glanced at him and fought a sudden smile. Poor man, shackled to a crazy brother like Jers.

  “Fights?” Jerdren’s sandy red eyebrows went up. “Why would I start a fight in the Keep? There are rules, right? Only a fool would do that, right?”

  Blorys cast his eyes up. Jerdren shrugged and smiled cheerfully.

  “So, that’s settled. Eddis, you look gorgeous as always, and I’m tame today, I promise you, so is there room enough here for Blor and me to join you? We haven’t talked in a while, you know.”

  Eddis edged over toward M’Baddah. Jerdren grabbed two empty stools, while his brother went for a jug of wine and cups. “How long’ve you been here?”

  “An hour or so,” she said. “You?”

  “Got in around midday.”

  Eddis sighed heavily. “I should’ve known that was you. Had a little trouble on the way, did you?” she said sourly. “And left a nasty mess behind?”

  “Huh?” He stared blankly. “Oh. Were the bodies still there?”

  “One dead horse count? Also, lots of blood?”

  “Not my fault,” Jerdren said dryly. “You cut ’em to keep from getting cut by ’em, and they bleed. Fact of life.”

  He took a cup of wine from Blorys, drank deeply, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and gave her a cheerful grin. “Just trying to leave a clear road for you, Eddis.”

  “Yah,” she scoffed. “Hello, Blorys. How’s the road?”

  Blorys smiled. “Same as always. This last caravan was pleasant enough. One before that, seems we fought someone or something off every single day. One before that, up on the Holderin foothills, river flooded and took half our camp downstream.”

  “Old business,” Jerdren said, impatiently. “Same as always, same as last year, and same as the next, probably.” He seemed to come to some decision, drank quickly, and set the cup aside. “Listen, Eddis,” he said crisply. “You’re just the person I wanted to talk to.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Why not?”

  She held up a hand for silence and began turning down digits. “Back up north, just before that fight over the barmaid, there was something about hidden gold. About half a year before that, something about cleaning bandits out of a village. Then there was Inner Dell and the—oh, never mind!” Eyes narrowed, she leaned on her elbows and glared at him. “I know that look, Jerdren. It means you’ve come up with something complicated, possibly dangerous, and probably unlawful. Well, not me, not anywhere, but definitely not here in the Keep!”

  “But—!”

  “Jerdren, they’ll lock you up here and toss the key over the walls if you steal from a shop. One of your schemes would probably get us all tossed over the walls!”

  Blorys gave Eddis a tired look. “Sorry. I knew he was up to something, but he wouldn’t tell me.”

  “Told you I would, soon as we found someone—well, like Eddis. Didn’t I? Just wanted to tell it once, that’s all.” He turned back to Eddis and smiled.

  She edged back on her stool and eyed him sidelong. “Save the charm, Jerdren. You aren’t luring me into one of your schemes.”

  “Scheme? But Eddis, this is official business!”

  “Sure. Look, just tell me, I’ll say no, and we can go our separate ways.”

  “She’s got a good point, Brother,” Blorys said pointedly. “Tell us, all right?”

  The older man grinned widely. “Okay. We got in a while back, and I settled with the clients, then went to unsaddle while Blor got us cots. So, I’m coming out and ran right into Mebros. Remember, Blor? Used to be on the gates, short man, pale beard. Watch captain these days—so, anyway, I told him about our little fight out there on the road.”

  “I thought,” Blorys broke in, “that we were leaving that until after we’d had a chance to clean up.”

  “Well, he was there, and I know him. Anyway, Lhodis and his people weren’t going to keep quiet about the fight, were they? And Mebros wasn’t surprised. Seems there’s a band of robbers holed up somewhere close by. Of course,” Jerdren shrugged, “there’s always been a few men here and there, but since midsummer, they’ve attacked when and wherever they feel like it. Ten days ago, they took a gem merchant’s wife hostage, took all his money, then forced him to come here to collect the stones as her ransom.”

  M’Baddah stirred. “What did they do?”

  “The Keep men? What could they do, not knowing where the woman was? The merchant lost his money and his gems both, but at least he got his woman back.” Jerdren shook his head. “They know the guard here can’t chase ’em down, whatever dirty tricks they pull. These days, there are barely enough soldiers here to man the walls. The castellan runs what patrols he can, but—”

  Eddis leaned forward. “You’re telling me they’re just going to get away with it?” she demanded. “Because if they do, then what’s next?”

  Jerdren’s eyes were very bright. “Well, you know, that was my thought exactly, Eddis. It seems the castellan is going to put out the word for volunteers—heroes, Mebros says—to find that bandit camp and destroy it!”

  Blorys sighed wearily, breaking the startled silence that followed his brothers words. “Jers, you’re mad.”

  “Mad? Why?”

  The younger man merely shook his head.

  “All right, Blor, it may be only another Keep rumor, but if someone’s going to hunt down these bandits, why not us? We did all right this morning, didn’t we?”

  “Against a band of poorly trained, ragged men like that, we did.”

  “We were still outnumbered,” Jerdren reminded him, “and set on by surprise.” He drank wine, set the cup down, and began turning it between square, freckled hands, his eyes absently fixed on the contents. “Could be you’re right, Blor. I am getting bored with the same routine, year in and year out. Sure, it takes a good man to plan a journey across the realm, especially out
to the borderlands, to bring a caravan through safely.”

  “Or woman,” Eddis remarked dryly. Jerdren gazed at her blankly and finally shrugged.

  “Oh—right,” he said.

  “Look,” Blorys said, “Mebros’ always been one for spinning a good yarn. How do you know this isn’t another of them?”

  “Could be,” Jerdren allowed, “but I don’t think so. He got it direct from one of the men who watches the inner gates, and that fellow is good friends with one of the castellan’s personal guard. That’s not the same as market rumor, is it?”

  “Save the argument for later,” Eddis said. “Just tell us.”

  “All right,” Jerdren said. “What he said is that up until this summer, there’ve been the usual raids on travelers and caravans. You know. A few men preying on lone wagons, harrying riders. Mostly, they’ve been unorganized and easily driven off. But recently, the attacks have increased, and the raiders seem better armed, better organized. Mebros says all evidence points to a large band, a camp of fifty or more men—soldier-trained.”

  “The men who attacked us this morning were organized, but I wouldn’t call them well trained,” Blorys pointed out.

  Jerdren shook his head. “From what Mebros said, I don’t think they were part of this local band. He says they wear a patch or badge of some kind—a bit of dark green on one sleeve. Our bunch might have been a raiding party moving through the area, or maybe men looking to join up with the local band.” He waved that aside. “Mebros says it’s near certain there’s at least one camp close by, but it’s also fairly sure they move often. Still, a large band of men, I’m thinking they’d have two or three regular sites up in the hills they go to, near the river or across rock, so they’d leave no obvious trail. Far enough away that the castellan can’t afford to send men looking for them but near enough to keep watch on the road.”

  “That still covers a lot of rough ground,” Eddis said.

  “Exactly.” Jerdren grinned at her. “And most of the castellan’s men are guards. They’re best at manning the walls here.”

  “So what, Jers?” his brother asked dryly. “You’re suggesting that the five of us go looking for a well-armed group of fifty or more? Track them down ourselves and bring them down? That’s high odds even for you, isn’t it?”

  “Well—”

  “Forget it, Jerdren,” Eddis cut him off flatly. “Those aren’t my kind of odds. Personally, I’m still happy guarding merchant carts. The money’s good, and I don’t have to answer to some captain or… or castellan, either.”

  “I didn’t say just us,” the man protested. “The men I hired up north might want to join us, and there should be a few more like us here. Besides, Mebros says there’s to be a decent reward and a call for volunteers from the guard—”

  “Who are men fit only to guard the walls, according to you,” Eddis broke in sharply. “I don’t like it, Jerdren. Too much ‘if and maybe’ to your story, and besides, every time we run into each other, there’s trouble. Usually started by you.”

  “Eddis?” M’Baddah spoke up for the first time. “Perhaps M’Whan and I should go learn what we can before you and Jerdren argue the matter further.”

  Why bother? she thought sourly. All the same, she at least needed to discuss things with M’Baddah—privately.

  Jerdren nodded. “Sure, M’Baddah, that’s the spirit! Blor and I can talk to men we know in the barracks, and we’ll meet back here later. Fair enough, Eddis?”

  Silence.

  “Look, this isn’t like running into each other some place like Lower Vale. This would be a job. We’d plan it, like a regular campaign. What could go wrong?” The gleam was back in his eyes. “You know, when Mebros told me, all I could think was, ‘Why not us?’ Then, when I heard you had just ridden in, Eddis, it all—came together. It’s a chance for…”

  “Fame, wealth and glory?” Blorys asked sourly as the older man hesitated.

  “What’s wrong with fame and glory, Blor?”

  “What’s wrong with living to a ripe old age?” Eddis asked as she pushed to her feet. “Look, M’Baddah’s right. Why sit here arguing over what might be wild rumor? I want to know what’s involved. What we’d have to accomplish, how much help we’d get from the Keep, what size of a reward….”

  Blorys laid a hand on his brother’s arm. “Wait, Jers. You’ve had your say. I agree with M’Baddah and Eddis. Let’s go learn what we can. We could meet back here later, if there’s more than rumor to go on.”

  “One more thing, Jerdren,” Eddis said. “If your rumor proves true, and we decide to go in with you, and if the castellan decides we’re what he wants—or what he’s willing to settle for, you and I are equals in this. Got me?”

  “Equals—well, sure! But—?”

  “That means I get equal say with you on who’s chosen to go with us, how things are planned, and who sits in on the planning sessions—all of it, all the way. I am not joining you, Jerdren. We two are working together, or you can start looking elsewhere for your fighting force, got it?”

  The man nodded. She glanced at his younger brother, who gave her an apologetic smile. “Blorys, you’ll be back here maybe an hour after sundown?”

  He smiled faintly and nodded. “We’ll be here.”

  * * *

  The wind had died away, and afternoon sun cast long shadows, warming the stone walls and paving. Eddis strode across the square and over to the fountain, M’Baddah at her elbow and M’Whan close behind. Water burbled from a central pillar, falling back into the shallow stone bowl. It was much cooler here, and quiet. Private, for the moment. Most of the local people she could see were dismantling the morning market stalls across the courtyard, while a few customers haggled over the last fruits and baskets of tubers. Eddis settled her elbows and the small of her back against the stone lip and looked at her companions.

  “You hadn’t heard about this mad venture?” she asked.

  M’Baddah shrugged.

  M’Whan shook his head.

  “This Mebros could be pulling a joke on Jerdren. He’d have friends like that. Still, say it’s true. Say the castellan would pick people like us to clean up these bandits, give us what aid we needed, and reward us if we succeeded. Say even that between you two, Blorys, and me, we can keep Jerdren in check. Are we interested?”

  Silence, which she broke. “For myself—I don’t know. I’ve worked hard to build this business and a good reputation. It’s good coin, steady work. Why trade that for an unknown?”

  Her lieutenant raised an eyebrow. “Because a good warrior always seeks challenge, but we could return to the road, once the task is done. For the challenge alone, I say we should go.”

  M’Whan merely nodded.

  “All right.” Eddis sighed faintly. “I just wish Jerdren wasn’t involved. I hardly feel comfortable sharing a table with him in the tavern, but if he went off on some wild scheme of his own out there, it could get us killed.”

  “No,” M’Baddah said. “We know he is… excitable. We plan for that. As his brother no doubt must, all the time.”

  Eddis looked back toward the inn and laughed. “Poor Blorys, he probably does.” She turned to her two confidants. “So then, we’re in. Let’s split up and go learn what we can.”

  * * *

  She returned to the tavern just as the sun was setting. Ruddy light moved quickly off the highest towers, and a chill wind swept across the courtyard, blowing dust and fine spray from the fountain. Eddis shivered and lengthened her stride.

  It was warm inside the tavern and much busier than it had been earlier. People crowded the near trestles. She waited just inside the doorway for her eyes to adjust, her mind full of useless bits of information gathered over the past hour. The innkeeper claimed to be too busy to know about anything outside his own walls, but the man’s son had heard there was to be a scouting party to look for the bandit camp. Following his suggestion, she’d talked to Khalidd the trader, but Khalidd was no help. He’d merely had the tale
from Mebros. Ghor the smith was busy shoeing horses, so Eddis had had no opportunity to ask him anything.

  She’d picked up a dozen or more odd rumors here and there. Someone had said there were lizardmen out in the wetlands east of the Keep, and another supposedly had proof of magic armor in a cave—which was of course distant enough that its exact location was hidden. Others spoke of an enchanted mountain cat living deep in the woods and of a frail-looking hermit who turned men into logs. Two different girls told her about a maiden held by men who’d killed her family, leaving no one to ransom her, but Eddis had heard a similar tale back in her own village. There seemed to be endless speculation about the bandits, outrage over the merchant’s wife, and plenty of new tales about the attack on Jerdren’s party this morning. She’d heard that three of the bandits had since been seen here in the Keep, disguised as peddlers, and that a small invading party had tried to scale the western wall of the inner bailey and would have succeeded except for the racket they’d made falling into the terraced garden beds.

  There’d been a long hour then, while the guard captain listened to her story about the battle on the road and got her to identify the two dead men. The third had vanished, only a thin trail of blood to show which way he’d gone. Fortunately, they’d already talked to her clients and seemed willing to accept what she said as truth.

  The aroma of fresh loaves brought her back to the moment, and now she could see M’Whan threading his way between tables, coming her direction. Off to her right, the taverner’s wife was stoking a fire in the massive fireplace and two servants were moving around lighting candles and lanterns. Three half-grown boys came from the direction of the outside kitchens bearing steaming pots of stew. Serving girls followed with covered baskets of bread, and behind his long counter, the taverner turned up his lanterns and began setting out fresh cups and pitchers. Eddis drew a deep breath, sighed happily, and followed M’Whan across the room.

  They’d shoved two small tables together in front of a corner bench built into the southeast wall. Blorys watched as Jerdren spread out a map, securing corners with filled wine cups and two fat candles. Light from these fluttered and cast odd shadows as Eddis took a stool. M’Baddah settled down next to her and passed her a cup.