Blood and Shadows (The Saga of the Seven Stars Book 1)

by Dayne Edmondson

  In the aftermath of the fight at the manor, the city was in chaos. Word had spread through the streets that the lord and lady had been ousted as traitors. Patriots of the kingdom had begun organizing militias and fighting back against known assassins and thieves who, until now, had been allowed to roam free while good citizens were punished. The casualties were high on both sides but, as the afternoon wore on to evening, then to nightfall, the citizens began to win. By dawn, the city was free of the shadow that had been cast by the denizens of the underworld in Henry’s Crossing.

  With the shadow lifted, the people went back to their normal routines. It concerned them that there was no lord or lady in the manor, but not for long. They knew that a new one would be appointed soon enough.

  After the dust settled from the day-long battle for independence, Dawyn went down to the docks and found a vessel in port that bore the flag of Tar Ebon. Although the royal navy did not patrol the waters of the Tar River, they did traverse up the river when ferrying troops or traveling dignitaries to and from the capital. He approached the ship and announced himself, being welcomed aboard.

  Speaking with Captain Reynard, Dawyn arranged to have the two prisoners in his custody transferred to the Dauntless and sailed up the Tar River to Tar Ebon. A squad of royal marines accompanied Dawyn back to the Angry Bull where they retrieved the prisoners. Before they left, Dawyn provided them with the sealed letter he had written for the king, detailing their journey so far and their current actions.

  As the marines left, Dawyn entered the main room of the inn and took a seat. The others were gathered there as well, chatting about the events of the past few days, sharing stories. The Angry Bull had started to have patrons once again, so Horace and Eugenie were not sitting around, they were busy waiting on customers.

  “So,” Favio said as Dawyn sat down, “about where Lord Garik is. What are we going to do about it?”

  “Did you fill in the others?” Dawyn asked, gesturing to Alivia and Anwyn.

  “Aye, I filled them both in.”

  “Good. Here are my thoughts, then. First, Mara Damare is over a week’s ride from here. It may be faster to go by coastal ship, but the trick is finding one that can go faster than riding. Most coastal ships want to stop at the port city of Valnos and offload their wares while taking on new merchandise to sell elsewhere. This would lose us a day, possibly two.” The city of Valnos was the primary ocean port in the kingdom of Tar Ebon. It was the largest port between the White and Windy Mountains, though it was eclipsed tenfold by the mighty coastal city named the Citadel, nestled on the southeastern tip of the continent that Tar Ebon lay on. Regardless, coastal ships headed to Valnos from Tar Ebon would be losing money by not stopping in the city.

  “One option is we could pay a ship captain extra to take us past Valnos without stopping. But I expect he would charge us for the cost of all the products on his ship, claiming that any or all of the items could be sold. While we have a good amount of money, I’m not keen on spending it all on a ship that may save us but a few days of travel, weather permitting.”

  “So we will just ride cross-country?” Alivia asked.

  “I think that would be best, considering the circumstances, yes,” Dawyn replied.

  “I agree with Dawyn,” Anwyn said, speaking up at last. “Besides, I’m not keen on water very much. I like to feel dry land beneath my feet.”

  “That’s settled then,” Dawyn said. “We’ll take the overland route and hope we arrive in time. Favio, did you get any sense of when this meeting would begin?”

  “From the information I gathered it seemed that Lord Tomas was preparing to leave in two days’ time by carriage for the meeting. I believe this means that we have time on our side, for now.”

  “That’s good news,” Dawyn said. “We’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning. Get a long nights rest everyone, we’ll need it.”

  Chapter 20: The Crossroads

  As streaks of sunlight slipped through Dawyn’s window at the Angry Bull, he stirred. Memories of the last several days assailed him as he woke from a dream that was already being forgotten by his conscious mind. The dream, what he could remember of it at least, was strange. In his dream, he felt as if he were floating in nothingness. He had no form, no body, nothing; just consciousness in the form of energy. He wasn’t sure what it meant, so he pushed thoughts of the dream away as he focused on the days ahead.

  Coming downstairs, he found that, for once, he was the first person awake. He luxuriated in that feeling for a moment and then went into the kitchen to put on coffee for the others. Horace was up already, bringing up fresh supplies for the inn from the cellar. Business had begun to boom again, and Horace was not complaining about the work he had to do now that his inn was being packed each night. He had re-hired his bouncer and serving girls in anticipation of the high volume of patrons tonight. It seemed as if the entire town was in the midst of a week-long celebration; an independence day of sorts.

  “Ho, how are you Dawyn?” Horace asked with a smile as he waved at him.

  “I’m good, Horace,” Dawyn said, returning the wave. “How is Eugenie feeling?”

  “Oh, she is as well as can be expected, my friend. I cannot thank you and your friends enough for saving her life. She would have been left to rot down in that prison cell if you had not come to her aid.”

  “Just doing our job,” Dawyn said. “I’m surprised that I’m the first one up.”

  “First one up?” Horace asked, blinking. “The others have been up for a while now. They all left a few minutes ago to ready the horses.”

  “Oh, I see.” Dawyn felt his face reddening from embarrassment. He had hoped he would finally be the first person up. At last he smiled. “I’ll be the first person up some day.”

  Horace just chuckled. “I’m sure you will, one day, Dawyn.”

  Dawyn ran upstairs, thoughts of coffee forgotten, and gathered his supplies. Running back downstairs, he exited the back of the Angry Bull and made for the stables. Once there, he found Alivia, Anwyn and Favio grooming their horses. Anwyn was also grooming Shadow.

  “Ah, there’s the late sleeper,” Favio exclaimed. Seeing the look on Dawyn’s face he laughed out loud. “Don’t tell me. You got up and thought you were the first up, didn’t you?”

  Dawyn smiled, averting his eyes toward the floor. “Yes, I might have done that. I had hoped to have bragging rights because of it. But it seems I will have to wait for another morning.”

  “Ah, my friend, you may find yourself waiting a long while for that morning to come.”

  “Is everyone ready?” Alivia asked, changing the subject.

  Dawyn took the horse brush from Anwyn and finished grooming Shadow. Once done, the group mounted and rode. They headed west, toward the great bridge that spanned the Tar River. The span was named High Bridge because of its high arch. The group passed through the gates, which were now guarded by royal marines, and trotted across the black stone bridge. In the chaos following the ousting of the assassins’ and thieves’ guilds from the city, a power vacuum had been created. In order to prevent chaos, Dawyn had suggested to Captain Reynard that a contingent of marines be left behind to help guard the gates, at least. A people’s militia was formed within the city by former guardsmen and young, able-bodied men to continue the vigilance against the agents of the underworld.

  Once over the bridge, the group urged their horses into a fast trot and, soon, a run. Speed was of the essence if they were going to reach Mara Damare in time. They alternated between running their horses and walking them, with breaks as necessary to allow the horses to graze on fresh spring grass and drink from streams.

  The road from Henry’s Crossing to Mara Damare began by streaking west until it reached the town named The Crossroads. It was through The Crossroads all trade for the western region of the land flowed. A road from Valnos was in the southeast, with Mara Damare in the southwest, Henry’s Crossing to the east, the iron mines to the west, the King’s pass to the north
west and Tar Ebon to the northeast.

  There was no lord of The Crossroads. Instead, it was administrated by three of the seven great merchant families. The Lombarty family, the Zombrowski family and the Borgerson family shared joint rule of the city. Their guards provided safety and security, and the chosen representatives had a place on the ruling council which made decisions concerning the city. Having merchants rule the city was good for business, for it made merchants love to travel there because of lower tariffs and better rates, while warehouses were given discounts on storage space subsidized by each of the three merchant families.

  The merchant families were from an ancient bloodline that went back to the time of the Founding. They had begun in the Citadel and spread their enterprises out into the world. While the merchant families still called the Citadel home, they had operations in every land of the northern hemisphere and discouraged any other merchants from trying to cut into their business. The merchant families employed thousands upon thousands of smaller merchants around the world, making it easier for other merchants to find work and less inclined to try and start their own operations.

  The Crossroads was also unique in that it was considered neutral territory. The city lay just beyond the boundary of the kingdom of Tar Ebon, while still being a few leagues north of the boundary of the kingdom of Kelest. This position afforded the city additional advantages, but also made it vulnerable to potential attack. For this reason, it was bounded by a medium-size stone wall, with gates on each side. The guards hired by the merchant families patrolled the walls and nearby territory and watched the gates to keep unsavory types out.

  The city thrived on trade, and it showed in the form of seven large inns and twice as many taverns. Wagons bustled down the streets, horses snuffing, while merchants walked from building to building making deals. Guard patrols were frequent, which was due to the fact that, because so much valuable material flowed through the city, thieves would be commonplace. Despite Lord Garik’s influence spreading throughout the land between the mountains, it seemed as though The Crossroads had remained untouched.

  The companions did not intend to stay long in The Crossroads. Stopping at a general store, they bought some additional travel supplies such as dried meat, spare canteens and blankets. Next, they rode to one of the taverns, named The Filthy Lady, to get a drink, a meal and to hear the latest gossip from merchants. They left their horses in the stables out back and went inside. There, they found the common room was dark, with shades drawn over all of the windows and candles lit on every table. In one corner of the room, men played a game of dice, while in another corner they played a game of cards.

  The companions took a seat and waited for the serving woman to come to their table. “I remember this tavern,” Favio said, looking around. “I played this place once when traveling back from the west. They didn’t tip very well.”

  “Well, they didn’t have much money to spend,” said Alivia dryly. “They probably gambled it all away.”

  The serving woman came up to their table to take their order. Dawyn had been watching her and saw the harassment she had to endure from several of the men in the tavern. They would pinch her there or slap her buttocks or try to grab her to sit on their laps. She would slip away from such men while still retaining her poise. She was not the type of woman the sign suggested might be in the tavern.

  “I’ll have a mug of dark ale, your house soup and what’s today’s meat?” Dawyn asked, looking into the young woman’s pretty green eyes.

  “We have a bit of chicken left from yesterday and roast beef for today,” the woman replied. While she smiled with her mouth, the gesture did not reach her eyes. She had seen a lot of things in this establishment, and it had left her jaded.

  “I’ll try the roast beef and with that ale and soup,” Dawyn said.

  The woman nodded and continued taking the orders from the others. Alivia ordered the chicken with a vegetable soup and glass of mulled wine, and Anwyn ordered a double plate of roast beef, no soup and a mug of beer. Favio went last, giving the serving woman a seated bow, and ordered a large bowl of the house soup, which happened to be beef and barley, and a large mug of dark ale, like Dawyn had ordered.

  Finished with taking their orders, the woman strode off toward the kitchens.

  As they waited for their food, Dawyn listened to the conversations all around him. Much of the talk was about the early spring, as it had been in Tar Ebon, and how it would affect crop prices. Other conversations revolved around rumors of war in the Imperial lands across the ocean. Rumor had it that the Empire was attempting to conquer several smaller kingdoms…and was succeeding. War could sometimes be good for merchants, if they didn’t pick sides. Merchants could make a great deal of money selling to both sides in a conflict, if they didn’t get caught. The rumors sounded much like what Dawyn had heard back in Tar Ebon, though more recent.

  The subject of Lord Garik and his forces was a topic for conversation as well, with several merchants expressing concern over how many cities seemed to be overrun by cut-throats and thieves. Word had just reached The Crossroads about the events in Henry’s Crossing, though it was not quite the truth. The rumors surrounding Henry’s Crossing ranged from the lord and lady being eaten by a creature in the forest to the people rising up and killing the them while fighting hordes of assassins, all the way to a version of the true events that told of a Shadow Watch Guard slaying a room full of assassins and executing the lord and lady.

  Dawyn was relieved none of the tales he heard mentioned the lord and lady had been captured and taken to Tar Ebon. Better to let Lord Garik believe his servants were dead than alive; else he might try to free them from the black cells. It did concern him some tales spoke of a Shadow Watch Guard, which could spook Lord Garik if he believed them. He might think that perhaps Dawyn had been a vanguard for a larger force.

  Their food arrived and they ate and drank their fill. Dawyn left a generous tip in addition to the price of the food, and he and his companions left to collect their horses. They left from the southern gate out of the city, and a short while later took the southwestern path which led toward Mara Damare.

  Chapter 21: Old Friends

  Dawyn and his companions had been traveling the southwest road for a few hours when Dawyn held up his hand to halt the party. He had seen movement in the woods.

  “What is it?” Alivia asked in a voice just above a whisper.

  “I saw something in the woods,” Dawyn replied. “It may be nothing, but ready your weapons just in case.” Drawing one of his swords, Dawyn guided Shadow into the woods toward where he had seen the movement.

  As they neared the spot, he began to doubt he had seen anything move, but then he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around just as he heard Anwyn gasp.

  There, arrayed behind them, stood several hooded men with short bows in hand, arrows nocked and pointed at the party. “State your business,” a voice said, coming from one of the men.

  Dawyn recognized the voice. “Flynn?” he asked. “Is that you? It’s me, Dawyn Johnson. I'm Darklance, now.”

  For a moment, there was silence. Then one of the men facing the group stepped forward and lowered his hood. The face of Flynn Davison looked back at him. The man looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “By the Founders, man, it is you! Lower your weapons men; this here is the commander of the Shadow Watch Guard and a former ranger.” The rest of the men, rangers themselves, lowered their bows.

  Dawyn dismounted Shadow and walked up to embrace Flynn. The two men clasped hands, pulled each other close for an embrace like brothers reuniting. Dawyn had spent almost ten years in the rangers. Flynn Davison had been at his side from the start. Flynn was one of the men who had rescued him from certain death at the hand of a village full of angry people.

  The Ranger-General at the time, Rodrigo Baltam, had come upon Dawyn as he had been about to be burned at the stake for the death of the family with whom he and his sister had been staying. Rodrigo, seeing the truth in Dawy
n’s eyes, that he had not committed the crime of which the villagers accused him, ordered the man set free until the facts could be determined. They had inspected the homestead where the poor family had been murdered and found it to be the work of several professional killers, not Dawyn. The Ranger-General had cleared Dawyn of all charges but, because Dawyn had no place to go, and because the villagers had persisted in wanting him burned at the stake, he offered the option of joining the king’s rangers. With the loss of his sister, Bridgette, still fresh in his heart, Dawyn had accepted the offer and been enlisted on the spot.

  “What brings you so far from Tar Ebon?” Flynn asked. “Shouldn’t you be guarding the king? Don’t tell me he’s coming this way.”

  “My companions and I have been given a special assignment,” Dawyn said. “We are to hunt down and kill or capture the Lord Garik and his highest lieutenants. I suspect you've heard of the man?”

  Flynn’s face darkened at the mention of Lord Garik. “Aye, I’ve heard of him. I don’t know a ranger in the land who hasn’t heard of the man by now. His minions have been causing a right bunch of trouble for me and my boys. In fact, I’m sorry to admit that we thought perhaps you and your companions were working for Lord Garik. We’ve heard whisper of a gathering of sorts down to the south somewhere and thought we would patrol the path to see what we could find.”

  “Then our purposes are aligned,” Dawyn said with a nod. “But first, allow me to introduce my companions. This is Alivia, Anwyn and Favio. Alivia is a mage from the Tower, Anwyn is a druid and Favio has unique talents of storytelling and knife-work.”

  Flynn nodded to each as their names were spoken. “It’s my pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Dawyn’s is a friend of mine.” Turning back to Dawyn he asked, “So you have an idea of where Lord Garik is hosting this little gathering of the underworld?”