“How many do you think we would need for about ten horses and eight people?” James asks.
Thinking for a second, he says, “Probably four would be sufficient, provided you are able to replenish them every three or four days.”
“Very well,” he agrees, “we’ll take four. Now, can we go see what wagons are available?”
“Certainly sir,” he says as he leads them out a back door to the adjacent courtyard. Outside are four wagons of varying size and age. One is really old and looks to be falling apart, another is brand new with lots of ornamentation. Seeing James looking at the one with ornamentation, he says, “Sorry sir, that one has been special ordered by another customer. I do have these other three available.”
He takes them to one that is neither old nor new and looks to have seen service at some time or another. “This one here, though not new, is sturdy and will last you a long time.”
James and Roland inspect it, the wheels don’t show signs of cracking and overall, it looks to have been very well cared for. “How much?” James asks Salli.
“For the barrels and the wagon,” he replies, placing his hand on his chin in contemplation, “ten golds.”
“Ten?” James says in mock shock and then begins what he really hates, haggling. “Surely this wagon has seen better days, I would think six would be more than adequate for such a well used wagon.”
“Six!” Sallie exclaims. “Why not just steal it from me right now!” With a look of outrage, he says, “Surely you can see that this wagon, though having been used, still has many, many years left in her. I couldn’t part with it for less than nine.”
“Hmmm…” James murmurs as if he’s contemplating the offer. Turning to Roland, he says, “Wasn’t there that merchant trying to sell his extra wagon for seven over at the caravansary?”
“I think so, yes,” Roland says with a smile as he plays along.
“Eight, good sirs,” Sallie counters. “And I’ll throw in a couple buckets to help in the watering of your horses.”
James thinks about it for a second and looks to Roland, who nods. “Alright, eight it is,” he says, holding out his hand to clench the deal.
Beaming again, Salli takes his hand and shakes it firmly. “Thank you good sirs,” he says. “When would you like to pick it up?”
“We could just take it right now,” James replies as he hands over the eight golds.
“But you brought no horses,” Salli says, taking the coins. “Surely you two will be unable to pull it yourselves.”
James looks at Roland, “How could we forget about the horses?”
“I hadn’t,” Roland explains, surprised that James had. “I just thought you wanted to purchase the wagon first.”
Turning to Salli, he asks, “Where can I get a couple horses?”
“There’s a horse trader on the other side of town, a man by the name of Jiharan,” he explains. “Just tell him Salli sent you and he’ll treat you fairly.”
“Thanks,” James replies, “we’ll do that.”
“I’ll have everything loaded and ready upon your return,” he assures them.
Leaving Salli’s Barrels behind, they head across town to find Jiharan. They continue down the main thoroughfare, asking directions from the locals. At one point, James catches out of the corner of his eye someone who looks like Delia among the crowd. When he turns his head to get a better look, she’s gone. Figuring he’s just seeing things, he continues on and they soon arrive at the horse trader’s establishment.
Jiharan greets them upon entering and when they tell him that Salli sent them, he breaks into a smile and cordially takes them to the back where he has a dozen horses of varying size and shape.
James tells him of their need for horses to pull a wagon and he shows them two that would fit the bill perfectly. After some haggling, James hands over most of their remaining money and they leave with two fine horses. Jiharan, graciously enough, threw in the traces they would require to attach the horses to the wagon. He even went so far as to have one of his apprentices carry the equipment back to Salli’s and help them with putting it on.
Back at Salli’s, he’s pleased to discover that not only are the barrels awaiting them in the back of the wagon, but Salli was nice enough to have them already filled with water. With the apprentice’s help, the horses are soon attached to the wagon and they give him a couple coppers for his time before he returns to his master.
Salli waves a friendly goodbye to them as they pull out of his yard, James at the reins. As they make their way through town, he sees a chandler’s shop and stops. He buys some much needed supplies like better food than just travel rations, and a couple ladles to use for getting water to drink from the barrels.
Now with an almost empty coin pouch, they resume their way back to the caravansary where the others are waiting. When they get there, James is in for a shock. When they left, there were two wagons, now there are four. Two boys are there with the others as well.
As they ride up, Delia comes out to meet them before they have a chance to get to the camp. Beaming like a cat that had eaten the canary, she says, “Good news!”
“What?” asks James, looking a bit perplexed.
She hands him a pouch, heavy with coin. “While you were gone, Tinok and I delivered a couple packages that were to be dropped off here and was paid for them.”
“How much?” he asks.
“Forty gold, ten silver,” she replies.
“What about those other two wagons?” he asks as he nods his head in their direction.
“One of the merchants that we delivered a package to needed to get a load to Korazan as quickly as possible,” she explains. “When he found out we were headed there, he asked if his lads could tag along. Couldn’t see any harm in it, so I agreed.” She could see that he was dubious of the whole thing, “Besides, he gave us an extra four golds.”
Beginning to see the advantage in having others with them, he nods and says, “Good job.”
She beams back at him and walks alongside the wagon as he brings it back to camp.
Once the wagon is in position with the others, he gets down and calls Tinok over to help with watering the horses. He comes over with Cassie holding his hand, they’re both smiling and happy.
“What’s this?” he asks when he sees a new necklace around Cassie’s neck.
“Oh, I bought it for her while I was helping Delia deliver the packages,” Tinok replies.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Cassie asks as she holds it up for his inspection. It’s a gold, heart shaped medallion with two small diamonds in the middle.
Unable to help himself, he breaks into a smile as he says, “Yes, it’s very nice.”
Glancing over to Delia, he sees her grinning at him. He nods his head and then he and Tinok proceed to water the horses from the barrels, using the two buckets Salli had given them.
By this time, the sun has finally fallen below the horizon and James takes out some of the food that he bought earlier in town. Everyone is glad to have a break from travel rations and sets to with gusto. While they are eating, James spies Ahlim, the ‘caravansary master’ walking off in the distance. He watches as he greets another caravan and scores some more coin. He just shakes his head and chuckles to himself, able to see the humor of it when it’s not happening to himself.
The two lads who will be driving the other wagons stay off by themselves, apparently having brought their own provisions.
During the meal, Delia asks him, “Weren’t we planning on hiring guards?”
Having totally forgotten about it but trying to hide the fact, he says, “We sure are. Roland and I were going to go back into town after dinner and hire some.” He looks over to Roland and asks, “Right?”
With a slightly confused look on his face, Roland says, “Uh, right.”
“How many do you think we’ll need?” Jiron asks.
“Maybe eight or ten,” James guesses, “depends on how much they’ll be.” Finishing his meal
, he stands up and says to Roland, “If you’re ready, let’s go.”
Roland gets up, gives Ezra and Arkie a kiss goodbye and then joins James as he walks toward town.
“He forgot didn’t he?” Tinok asks Delia after they’ve moved out of earshot.
“Probably,” she agrees as she watches them walking back to town.
On their way, James asks Roland, “Where do you think would be the best place to hire some?”
“There’s usually a guildhall or some other place where merchants contract for guards,” he explains. “We just have to know where to look, or who to ask.”
After they enter town, they walk down the main thoroughfare until Roland sees one of the city’s guards on patrol. He goes over to him and after a brief discussion, comes back to James and says, “He says that if we continue down the road, we’ll come across the merchant’s guild where we’ll be able to hire guards.”
“Great,” he replies as they hurry down the road.
After several blocks, they see a three story building coming up on their right. It stands a floor taller than any other building near it, and its imposing architecture can only mean this is the merchant’s guild. Stepping up to the door, they open it and enter a room decorated to impress those who enter. Expensive rugs, statues spaced around the room and finely carved furniture all say, money.
Several people are seated in plush chairs, sharing some kind of drink as they converse. One man, whose attire shows him to be a servant, comes over to them after they enter and says something, at which Roland replies. He says something again and then turns to cross the room, exiting through a side door.
James looks to Roland, who explains, “Apparently, only members are allowed within here and only members are allowed to hire guards from here as well.”
“Where did he go?” James asks.
“He went to get his superior,” he replies. “Perhaps we could join the guild in order to hire some guards?”
“Maybe,” says James, dubious at the prospect.
They wait only a moment before the door opens again and a man emerges, dressed similar to the first one except this one’s clothes are of much finer quality. Seeing them standing there, he comes over to them. He addresses Roland again and then they begin a conversation.
Frustrated, James can only stand there and wait for the translation.
The other man pauses while Roland turns to James and says, “It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to join. You must be either a partner of a current member, be referred by a member, or over time be invited to join based on your successes as a merchant.”
“So what do we do?” he asks Roland.
Roland turns back to the man and they exchange several words before he again translates for James. “He says we could try the bars, that there are often mercenaries there who may hire out.”
Not at all liking that idea, he shakes his head.
Roland says a few words to the man and then they each bow to the other before the man turns and leaves through the door he came out of.
“Now what?” Roland asks.
“We go back and explain why we’re returning with no guards,” James says.
As they leave the merchant’s guild, a man is waiting for them outside and approaches as they start walking away from the building. “Excuse me,” the man says, in words heavy with accent.
They pause as James replies, “Yes?” He looks at the man; he’s dressed well, neat and trim with a sword hanging at his hip.
“I was inside and heard that you are looking for some guards for your caravan?” he inquires.
“That’s right,” James says.
“My fellows and I have just finished a contract that wasn’t renewed with a merchant, here in the city,” he explains. “And we currently find ourselves looking for other work. If you are still in need of guards, we are available.”
“Just a moment,” James says to him as he pulls Roland aside. “What do you think?” he asks him in a whisper.
“I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right,” he replies.
James nods his head in agreement, “I feel the same way.” Turning back to the man, he says, “Actually, we really don’t need your services right now, but thanks for offering.”
“As you will,” the man says, “apparently, I was mistaken.” Bowing, the man turns and walks away, disappearing into the crowd.
Once the man is gone, they resume making their way back to their camp at the caravansary. When they arrive, Delia asks, “Where are the guards?”
“You have to be a member of the merchant’s guild in order to hire any through them,” James explains. “So we will do the best we can without any for right now.”
Delia hands him a sack. Opening it up, he sees a sling and twenty iron slugs within. “What’s this for?” he asks.
“So when you do your thing with the stones, it won’t seem so,” she explains, pausing momentarily, “magical.”
“Thanks,” he says graciously.
“You’re welcome,” she replies, “I’ll teach you how to use it when we are out on the road.”
“Alright,” agrees James. Going over near the campfire, he upends the sack and pours the sling and the slugs on the ground and begins inspecting them.
Cassie and Tinok are sitting close together, heads leaned against one another as they sit there, Tinok with his arm around her. Both are looking quite content.
Jiron comes over to where James is looking over his new toy and sits down. “Do you think they’re at Korazan yet?” he asks him.
“Maybe, though I can’t be sure,” he replies, stuffing the slugs and sling back in the pouch. He secures the pouch on his belt to keep it handy.
“Can’t you do that compass thing?” he suggests.
James nods over to the two lads and says, “Don’t want to alert them about my abilities until it becomes absolutely necessary. Don’t know how they’ll react, or even who they would tell.” Pausing a moment, he turns his head to look at Jiron in the eye and says, “It doesn’t matter if they are or not, we can’t get there faster.”
“True,” Jiron says, crestfallen. “I just wanted to know.”
“So do I, I’m worried about them. But they should be alright until they get sold and hopefully we’ll be there before then.”
Jiron just sits there, his mood dark as thoughts of his sister and what may be happening to her run through his mind.
Not too long after, they break up and turn in. The two lads sleep under their wagons while the rest of the group stays together around the campfire.
Chapter Twelve
They’re up and ready to roll by the time the sun crests the horizon. Now a much larger caravan, they decide to have Roland drive the wagon in which Ezra and Arkie ride. Jiron again rides point now that he’s mostly recovered from his ordeal, while Tinok and Cassie drive the water wagon. James and Delia take the front wagon with the two lads eating dust at the rear. They still have the string of five horses they acquired earlier, as well as Roland’s two, just in case.
The road south of Zereth-Alin slowly begins to turn hilly the further they ride. The hills are sparsely covered with scrub brush, the occasional snake or lizard makes an appearance. There’s not too much traffic on the road, the heat of summer must keep all non essential travel to a minimum.
During a stop to water the horses, Delia approaches James and asks, “Ready?”
“For what?” he replies.
“To learn how to use your sling,” she replies.
Getting down from his wagon and the cool of the shade he says, “Sure.” He then rummages in the pouch at his waist and pulls out the sling as well as five of the slugs.
She leads him away from the others and then takes the sling from him. She also takes one of the slugs and puts it into the sling’s pouch. “What you want to do is hold it by the two loops on the ends like this,” she says as she demonstrates the proper technique. “Then you slowly wind it up and release one end of the sling when it reaches the
proper position that will enable the slug to fly where you want it. Watch.”
She quickly winds up the sling and then lets go of one end while still holding onto the other. The sling opens up and the slug flies through the air, hitting a small tree ten yards away. Turning back to him, she says, “Easy.”
Giving him the sling, she watches as he gets ready to place a slug in it. She adjusts the way he’s holding it and then gestures for him to insert a slug. “Now, wind it up and when it feels right, let only one end loose so the slug will fly free, got it?” she asks.
“I think so,” he says. Winding up, he gets the sling whirling fast and then lets go. He hears a chuckle coming from behind him as the sling leaves his hands and goes flying out into the desert, the slug still remaining within its pouch. Turning around, he sees Tinok standing there, shaking his head and grinning.
“Don’t mind him,” she tells James. “Just retrieve your sling and let’s try it again.”
Once he’s returned with it, he stands the way Delia instructs him to maintain his balance and remain centered, then gets it whirling quickly. This time when he lets go, he manages to retain one end of the sling, but he hears more laughter as the slug hits one of the wagons behind him.
“Watch it!” Jiron says from where the slug almost nailed him.
“Sorry!” James hollers over to him.
“Better,” says Delia.
“How is that better?” he exclaims. “I almost killed Jiron.”
“You didn’t lose the sling this time,” she explains. “Now, do it again and concentrate less on retaining the sling and more on the target.”
Placing another slug within the sling, he gives her a look and receives one of encouragement back. Behind him, he hears Tinok loudly say in amusement, “Be alert, he’s trying again.”
Trying to concentrate on the small tree that she hit earlier, he begins to twirl and then releases. To his satisfaction, the slug goes in somewhat the desired direction, though still hitting the ground ten feet away from the tree.
“Not bad,” she says encouragingly. “A little more practice and you’ll have it down. Just don’t expect to be perfect too soon, it takes time to learn.”
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