"Excuse me, sir."
Though impatient to chase down his children, Ra-khir obligingly gave the stranger his attention. The Dunforder wore gray linens with long, tattered sleeves. A bow and quiver lay slung over his shoulder. A mop of brown hair flopped over his head and half his face.
"I thought you should know that those Renshai aren't the only army in the area."
That gained Ra-khir's full interest. "Odd that. Who else is out there?"
"Northmen, by the look of them, maybe some Erythanians, too. Lots of blonds, talking in some odd language. I'd have thought those your Renshai, except they had spears and axes and everyone knows Renshai only use swords. Armor, too. And there weren't any women."
Ra-khir's heart seemed to stop beating, and his hand raised to his suddenly tight chest. "How… how many did you see?"
"Hundreds. They didn't come to town, but I'm a hunter. I saw them on the road."
"Thank you." Bad as it sounded, Ra-khir appreciated having the news. There could be only one reason the Northmen had chosen to travel south and east. They were following the Renshai. It only remained to be seen whether they did so to ascertain the Renshai kept their vow to leave the Westlands, or to brutally slaughter them all before they reached the East. "Thank you for the information and the hospitality." He swung up into the saddle, taking the reins.
"Knights of Erythane are always welcome here," the hunter assured him, stepping away from Ra-khir and Silver Warrior.
Tipping his hat to the crowd gathered to see him off, Ra-khir trotted toward the packed dirt roadway.
East of Dunford and north of the Southern Weathered Mountains, Calistin dragged into his first Western city, his tattered, filthy cloak rain-plastered to skin and jerkin and his hair in wild spikes. The sky had barely lost the sun beyond its western horizon, leaving a cloud-swollen haze that guided him through the muddy streets. He slogged between rows of simple cottages, their thatched roofs swollen with water, their inhabitants locked in against the weather. Bedraggled chickens huddled beneath the overhangs.
Calistin followed the sound of a creaking sign through the gloom, to a sagging wooden tavern. The sign itself had cracked and peeled from wear. Once, it had clearly borne a design, but only bits of paint remained, including the Common letters "T", "V", and "N". Smoke curled from the chimney. Glad for a chance to rest and eat, Calistin tripped the latch.
The door swung open to reveal a cozy interior filled with nine round tables, a rickety wooden bar with stools, and an assortment of men. Two young barmaids wove through the crowd, and a barkeep stood behind the counter tapping the contents of various barrels into bowls and mugs. When he found no open tables, Calistin flopped onto a stool in front of the bar and studied the other customers.
The men ranged in age from older teens to gray-bearded elders. Most had leathered faces and callused hands, and their hair colors ranged from Bearnian dark to sandy blond or grizzled white. Many ate from coarsely hammered plates and drank from lopsided bowls. The odors of roasted meat, bread, and tubers perfumed the air.
The barkeep, a fat, bearded man with freckled arms, approached Calistin and swiped a dirty rag across the place the Renshai had chosen. It looked no cleaner when he finished, and the rag left a sticky film. Leaning forward, he smiled patronizingly. "So, boy. What can I do for you today?"
Calistin took an immediate dislike to the barkeep who spoke the Western tongue in the weird, high-pitched singsong people usually reserved for animals and infants. "You can get me some food and a mug of ale."
"Ale?" The barkeep's lids rose over eyes recessed like a pig's. He laughed wildly, as if responding to some unspoken joke.
Deadly serious, Calistin watched the barkeep's antics with waning patience.
Finally, the barkeep explained. "Aren't you a bit young for ale, son?"
Calistin gritted his teeth, fighting a rising wash of temper. "First, I'm not your son. Second, I'm a man and perfectly capable of determining when I'm hungry and thirsty. And, third, I wasn't aware ale had an age requirement."
The barkeep stopped laughing. His massive elbows dropped to the counter in front of Calistin, and he leaned in. His breath reeked of alcohol and rotting teeth. "I find that children don't handle their liquor well, and they often don't have money to pay for what they're asking for."
Enraged by the insult, Calistin did not even consider the fact that the man had a point. He carried no coinage. He never had to worry about paying; no matter where he went, no matter what he wanted, someone always jumped in to cover him. In a blink, the barkeep lay on the floor, a sword at his throat in the hands of an angry Renshai. "Just get me a plate of food and a gods-be-damned mug of ale." In the same tight-lipped, lethal tone, Calistin added, "Please."
The barkeep lay in stunned silence, his eyes round as coins.
It all happened so quickly, so quietly, that the conversations continued unabated. Calistin withdrew and sheathed his sword in a single motion, utterly unruffled. In contrast, the barkeep scuttled from the floor and ran to his casks, shaking uncontrollably.
Calistin surveyed the crowd again, studying the men with an expert eye. Within moments, one of the barmaids sidled over to him, placing down a plate containing a greasy chicken leg, a pile of whipped tubers, and a handful of crusty brown bread. She placed a mug beside him, turning her back to the barkeep. "Listen, honey," she purred. "The food's all right, 'cause I served up that; but I ain't vouching for the ale. Oscore's been known to spit in the bowl of anyone he don't like, and I'm bettin' he might've pissed in your'n."
"Thanks for the warning." Calistin looked past her to the other men in the tavern. "Do you happen to know if any of them is considered a decent swordsman?" He selected the one most suitable, a well-muscled tall man with a long oval, clean-shaven face. "Maybe him in the reddish cloak?"
The barmaid followed Calistin's gaze, then laughed. "That's Burnold, the blacksmith. A wizard with a hammer, but he wouldn't hit a mule if it kicked over his forge and set his house on fire. He can make a decent weapon, but he'd never use one."
Calistin grunted. "Too bad. He's built for war."
The barmaid giggled, looked at Calistin's somber expression, and stopped immediately. "Sorry 'bout that. I thought you was joking."
Calistin shoveled a handful of tubers into his mouth. They tasted bland but filling, and he found himself gulping down another before he could consider his manners. For the moment, his gut ruled his head. "I don't joke," Calistin announced around the mouthful.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The barmaid reacted as if he said he had lost a body part. "I love laughing. It just feels… good."
Calistin shrugged. His brothers exchanged silly comments all the time, but he never found the humor in them. "So," he reminded. "Your best warrior?"
"Oh." The barmaid swept a glance over the patrons. "You're in luck. He's still here." She inclined her head to a table in the farthest corner near the fireplace. "Karruno's the big one in black."
Calistin followed her motion to a bulky man swathed in a well-laundered black cloak. Nearly middle-aged, he had a rugged face that might have looked handsome if not for a jagged scar running the length of his left cheek. Unlike the blacksmith, he wore a sword in his waistband and a dagger thrust through as well. He sat back in his chair, only a mug in front of him, and his two companions cradled their own drinks as well.
Knowing how swiftly a challenge can become a brawl, Calistin examined all three of the men while he bolted the bread. The one she called Karruno had the mannerisms and dress of a fighting man, though his subtler movements and the draw of his muscles told Calistin otherwise. His abilities, whatever they might be, came solely of practice. He lacked the proper depth of sinew, the perfect placement of muscular origins and insertions that would make him a natural-born warrior. Calistin knew that a good teacher and experience could make a world of difference, but a man without the inherent advantages of build could never truly become the best.
Finished with the tubers and bread, Calistin look
ed at his ale. "This is no good?"
She wrinkled her nose. "I wouldn't drink it."
Calistin rose, mug in one hand, chicken leg in the other. "Can you get me one that is?"
The barmaid shook her head slightly. "Oscore handles all the drinks." She considered. "I could get you some water, if you're just thirsty."
Calistin remained standing. "None of that reused bathwater. As clean as you can find, please."
"I'll see what I can do, honey," she said as she headed around the bar.
Calistin tore through the chicken leg with his teeth, dropped the bone on his plate, then headed across the room toward Karruno. As he walked, he licked grease and mashed tubers from his fingers, then wiped them on britches only just beginning to dry from the rain.
Ignoring the curious stares that followed him across the barroom, Calistin approached Karruno. Without waiting for a break in the conversation, he announced, "Karruno, I challenge you to a fight."
Karruno stopped speaking and looked up. "Are you talking to me, boy?"
"Man," Calistin corrected.
"What?"
"I'm a man."
The three Westerners glanced at one another, condescending smiles pasted on their faces.
"Very well," Karruno said through his wicked grin. "Are you talking to me, young man?"
"Yes," Calistin confirmed, still clutching his ale. "You are Karruno, the best swordsman in these parts?"
The companion to Karruno's left, a tall, heavyset man with a short, graying beard spoke next. "That's him. Expert soldier when he's not slopping pigs or slaughtering chickens."
Karruno punched his companion in the arm before turning his attention back to Calistin. "What do you want, little stranger? Can't you see we're busy talking?"
Accustomed to immediate and absolute consideration, Calistin found these men irritatingly dense. "I told you. I want to fight you."
Karruno tossed back the last of his drink. "You mean a duel?"
"Yes."
"Why? Does my mere existence offend you, little man?"
Karruno's companions laughed.
As usual, Calistin found the comment more grating than amusing. "A true warrior needs no reason for combat but accepts every challenge for the sheer joy of battle."
Karruno's brows rose. "Is that right?"
Calistin had never had to defend a Renshai proverb. "Of course it's right."
"Then," Karruno said, looking around the table, "I guess I'm not a 'true warrior,' at least not by your cute little definition."
Calistin knew an insult when he heard one. "I'm challenging all the best swordsmen of the world." He intended to enter the Northlands with a powerful reputation behind him. When he found Valr Magnus, he would not just best the Northman, but destroy him utterly. From swordmaster to buffoon, from warrior to coward, the North's great master of the sword would fall from history, from memory, from Valhalla.
"Why?"
Calistin had no intention of revealing his life story to strangers. He simply wanted to battle, to diffuse his anger in a wild flurry of combat, to learn the tricks of the best ganim swordmasters before he met the challenge of Valr Magnus. "Because it suits me."
Karruno clearly did not appreciate that explanation. "Suits you, eh?" He tossed knowing glances around the table. "It suits him to challenge all the best swordsmen in the world."
"Of course it does."The last of the trio finally spoke. Short, broad-faced and coarse-featured, he sported a dark mustache speckled with foam. "If he wins, he looks like a great hero. If he loses, it doesn't matter. He's only a boy, after all."
"I'm a man," Calistin corrected for the third time. "And my name is Calistin."
"What's in it for me, Calistin?" Karruno leaned forward, lacing his fingers on the table in front of his empty mug. "If I lose, I look the fool. If I win, it's simply foregone." He made a dismissive gesture. "Now, go home, boy.You've wasted enough of our time."
Karruno's companions made similar motions, and all three turned away from Calistin. They leaned forward, as if thoroughly engrossed in the conversation they had long ago lost.
Fire lashed through Calistin's veins. His nostrils flared. He understood that these men did not know him or his abilities, but their willingness to turn their backs to him meant they considered him no threat. And that was the gravest insult of all. Without another thought, Calistin dumped the contents of his mug over Karruno's head.
Ale cascaded in a foamy, golden wave, soaking Karruno's dark mop of hair, his no-longer-meticulous black cloak, and pooling in his lap. All three men were on their feet in an instant, rounding on Calistin. "You gods-damned little pissant!" Karruno yelled. "I'll wring your scrawny neck."
It was exactly the reaction Calistin wanted. His hand slid to his hilt, but he waited for his opponent to draw first.
The bar fell silent, except for the sound of ale dripping from Karruno's clothing. Every eye in the place went suddenly to their table.
Oscore shouted from across the room, "Take it outside!"
"Fine!" Karruno glared down at Calistin, a full head and shoulders taller than the Renshai. "You want to fight, we'll fight." He made a stiff motion toward the door.
The tavern emptied in a rush, as every man inside funneled to the streets to watch the battle. Soon, they formed an eager circle around the soggy farmer and Calistin. Karruno threw off his sodden cloak to reveal torn and soiled britches and a plain linen shirt. The sword and dagger still girded his waist. He shook ale from his hair.
"What's the end point?" Calistin asked calmly.
"First blood," Karruno growled, drawing his sword.
Faster than thought, Calistin drew, lunged, and retreated. "Done."
"What?" Karruno raised his sword arm to reveal a sticky trail of scarlet dribbling from the back of his hand. "Damn it. I wasn't ready yet."
Calistin shrugged. "Are you ready now?"
Sword drawn, Karruno crouched. "Yes."
Again, Calistin made a lightning draw-cut and resheathed the weapon in a single motion. "Done."
This time, a bright red line scratched across Karruno's forearm.
Karruno's face purpled. His fingers went white around his sword hilt. "Damn you to the pits, you smug little bastard! I'm going to kill you!" He sprang for Calistin in a wild fury.
Calistin easily dodged the assault. "So now the end point is death?" He did not wait for an acknowledgment. "Very well." His blade licked out only once through Karruno's furious assault and cut across the farmer's throat in a deep, fatal line.
Karruno's eyes went enormous with surprise. He dropped his sword and clutched at his throat, gasping in a single, bloody breath before collapsing to the ground.
"Done," Calistin said, wiping his blade on a soft cloth before returning it to its sheath.
For several moments, the crowd stood in stunned silence. Then some ran to Karruno, too late to help him but trying fruitlessly to do so. Others charged into the streets, swallowed by the shadows. A few remained in place, staring at Karruno's body or openmouthed and furious at Calistin. No one challenged him, however.
Finished with his task, Calistin headed out into another night of lonely sleep in the cold, wet Western forests.
CHAPTER 25
Cowardice is always wrong, but it is acceptable to abandon a battle if it can only result in killing friends.
-Colbey Calistinsson
The sun beamed over the western forests, promising a beautiful day of travel, and Saviar tried his best to savor it. He had discovered the purpose his life had lacked for weeks, he had found his twin brother, and the funk that had settled over him since his mother's death finally seemed to have lifted. No one was dying or mourning to excess. No one was stalking or harassing him to the point of violent confrontation. Even the denizens of the forest seemed oblivious to the two Renshai in their midst. Birds flitted between the trees, exchanging happy twitters. Squirrels scrounged unhurriedly for nuts, and tiny lizards sunned themselves on rocks still damp from the previous day'
s rain, moving only when a shadow fell directly across them.
Still, Saviar had to force himself to revel in the warm, clear comfort of balmy weather and the fresh aromas of evergreens and undergrowth. He and Subikahn would devote themselves to a conventional heroism his life had sorely lacked, and he anticipated so much exhilaration and worthiness in their future. It had taken immense tragedy to get them to this point, but those misfortunes were mostly behind them. He wished he could find the will to enjoy every glad moment his mind and heart could spare.
Yet, despite the weather, and Saviar's deliberate focus on positive thoughts, two days spent trudging silently through the western forests frayed at his mood. He had not given much thought to the journey, instead imaging himself and Subikahn performing heroic acts and earning grateful companionship, the finest drink, and plates heaped with fresh-cooked food. Between their feats of courage, the twins would discuss the time they had spent apart, learning great new insights about one another, and becoming ever closer.
Subikahn and circumstance, however, seemed absolutely determined to sabotage Saviar's glee. Whenever the redhead tried to engage his twin in conversation, his attempts resulted in gruff monosyllabic responses. No matter what he said, the topic veered to Subikahn's private dilemmas, which always resulted in an angry plea to let bitter secrets lie. Furthermore, Saviar had the feeling that his furtive brother was deliberately avoiding inhabited areas, forcing them to subsist on journey bread, weeds, and berries. Those seemed to satisfy the smaller, slighter Subikahn but left Saviar with a painful hole in his belly that further devastated his mood.
In a last desperate effort to revive his failing joy, Saviar whirled through a glittery sprinkle of sunlight. "So, Subi," he said, in the happiest tone he could muster. "Just tell me something good that's happened to you recently."
Subikahn jerked his head toward Saviar, clearly startled by the question. His black hair hung in stringy tangles, twined through with twigs and leaves. Though his lifelong brother, Subikahn looked strangely alien that day: his features so very Eastern, his skin darker than Saviar remembered. It seemed odd to Saviar how a months-long separation could make the most intimate friends and family appear so utterly foreign. "Something good?"
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