“Zollin is not a Sorcerer, he's a Wizard,” Brianna said. She had come to stand next to Quinn and now she had the entire room's attention. “I know it doesn't seem like much of a difference but there is. He is good and he would never hurt you. But he can help us. He can help you defend your village.”
“I can't believe this,” Kelvich shouted. “You betrayed me, boy.” There was such conviction in his outrage that Zollin was startled. “All this time tutoring you in law, and you're a Wizard.”
“A Wizard is still a person,” Zollin said. “I'm sorry, Master Kelvich, but I did not harm you, nor did I take advantage of you.”
“That's beside the point,” Kelvich snarled. “How do you expect us to trust you if you aren't honest with us?”
“We are being honest now,” Quinn said. “We didn't tell you everything up front because we didn't expect you to ever need to know. But now you do. Now you need us and we'll help. We'll also answer any questions you have.”
“Where are you from?” asked one man.
“Tranaugh Shire,” Quinn said.
There was whispering around the room before Kelvich asked, “Didn't we hear something about trouble in Tranaugh Shire?”
“Yes,” Quinn replied. “A band of Wizards from the Torr arrived in our village with hired soldiers. They wanted to take Zollin away, and we fled.”
“How do we know the Torr won't follow you here?” said another man.
“They will, but not until spring,” Quinn explained. “The winter snows hold them back, just like the rest of the world. When the snows start to melt, we can move on if you like.”
“You could move on now,” said a burly looking man in a dirty coat.
“Yes, we could, but that won't help you. Can't you see we're trying to help?”
“Well, what do you propose?” the Inn Keeper asked.
“I propose that we plan for your defense and train you to handle whatever or whoever might threaten you,” Quinn said.
“When are we supposed to do that?” said another man. “We work, you know.”
“Yes, and so do we. But we have time to learn some basic skills and ensure that everyone knows what to do in case the town is attacked.”
“And you'll help us?” Kelvich asked.
“Yes, of course. We'll do all we can.”
“And the Wizard?” said one man. “What's he going to do?”
“He's actually our greatest advantage,” Quinn said.
“Don't you think the miners will have guessed that you all are the people from Tranaugh Shire?” said the man in the dirty coat. “I talked to that man they sent. He asked if we had seen anything out of the ordinary. He suspects your boy is a Sorcerer, and I'll bet they're ready for him.”
“Actually,” said Brianna, staring at the man with a cold look. “He thinks that Zollin is dead. The man attacked him and left him for dead, right here on this floor.” She pointed down at the rough wooden planks. “If you don't think these men are serious, then think again. They'll kill you without a thought. They have no qualms about spilling your blood and taking everything you own, including your wives and daughters.”
“You've brought this on us,” said a woman in the back.
“No,” Quinn said quietly. “Your lack of preparation and failure to stand against the miners brought this on you. We may have been the spark that started the fire, but it was coming. The only difference is that now we're here to help you. Please take some time to consider what we've said. Tomorrow you can let us know what you would like us to.”
The group went back to Quinn and Brianna's room. They tried to remain positive, but they couldn't help but listen to see if a mob had formed to storm their room. An hour passed, and they all began to relax. Eventually, there was a short knock on their door. Quinn answered it. The Inn Keeper looked relieved. Quinn had talked to him earlier in the day and the man had agreed to start the questioning. He had been afraid the room would break out into a colossal brawl, but the townsfolk had taken the news much better than expected. In fact, people had been wondering what to do for some time about the miners. Quinn and Zollin had given them something to focus their attention on, and for the most part it was positive.
“Most people are on board with your plan,” said Buck. “There are a few that would rather run you out of town or just turn you over to Trollic if he comes, but not many. Your teacher was very convincing,” Buck said to Zollin. “I can see why you'd want him schooling you.”
“You think most of the town's on board then?” Quinn asked.
“I can't speak for those who left, but there aren’t many of them either. The rest of us are convinced. We'll stand with you if the miners come. We should have done it all long ago.”
“No need to worry about that now,” Quinn said. “We can clear the common room of the Gateway Inn to teach some basic combat skills. Is there a place where we might train archers?”
“We could mark out a range behind the Inn here,” said Buck. “It'll take several men most of the day to do that, though.”
“I'll handle that,” Zollin said. “If that's okay?”
Buck nodded and Quinn smiled.
“Good, we'll get started tomorrow,” Quinn said. “Let's meet with the village leaders tomorrow evening. Can you arrange that?”
Buck nodded and then said good night.
Zollin and Mansel went back to their own room.
“You were pretty impressive out there,” Mansel said.
Zollin smiled, a little embarrassed at the older boy's praise.
“Too bad you can’t make our room smell better, mighty Wizard.”
And just like that, the world was back to normal.
Chapter 26
The next day was busy, with people going from place to place despite the cold weather. Zollin spent about half an hour moving the snow in a long rectangular space behind the Inn. There was plenty of room, and Zollin piled most of the snow up around the sides to block the icy wind. In the Gateway Inn, Quinn had almost finished the common room. It had really only needed the ceiling reinforced and some of the molding redone. There were no benches or tables, just a long open room. All day, men came by and pledged their support. The kitchens of the Inn were still unusable, so Ollie and Buck made lunches for the men coming in to practice their sword work. Quinn drilled the men on the most basic maneuvers with both sword and shield.
Once the archery range was finished, Mansel built a simple frame and attached straw-filled dummies to the wooden posts as targets. Men and women began arriving and practicing with their bows. Zollin had gone back to his room to study the anatomy text when he saw Brianna walk past with a bow in her hand. Her face was flushed with cold and excitement, and Zollin thought she was beautiful. He pushed those thoughts away and tried to focus on the diagram of blood flow through the body, but his mind just wasn't in it. He kept seeing her face, the ruddy cheeks, her smile, the way her hair was tied back and the wispy ends that had escaped the ribbon she had tied it with. He tried to wait until supper time, but finally he slammed the book closed and went out to find her.
She was in the common room sitting by the fire. There were several other women sitting there, all with cups of steaming drink. Zollin thought of returning to his room – he didn't want to interrupt their conversation. But before he could go, Brianna caught sight of him and hurried to where he was standing.
“Guess what?” she said, her eyes twinkling in the orange light from the fire.
“What?”
“I'm being trained as an archer,” she proclaimed, and the other girls giggled.
“An archer?”
“That's right. Tobin the Brickmaker was an archer in the King's Army. That was years ago, of course, but he's a good teacher. He rounded up several of the ladies like myself and is teaching us to shoot.”
“Really?” Zollin asked. “That's great, I guess.” Actually he was a little appalled at the idea of women being trained for war. He certainly didn't want Brianna anywhere near the fighting. H
is mind flashed back to the mercenary racing toward her in the forest, his sword raised for a killing stroke. He shook the memory away.
“You guess,” Brianna said frowning. “You don't think I can do it?”
“No, of course you can. It’s just the idea of it...” He let the words die on his tongue. Brianna looked at him, and now her eyes were ablaze with fury.
“What idea do you have of me, Zollin? Perhaps in a kitchen, fixing your supper? Or maybe bathing children? Is that more of what you had in mind for me?”
“No, nothing like that, it’s just-”
“Just what?” she demanded. “You say you think I can do it, but you don't think I should. Let me tell you something, I didn't come with you so that I could hide in your shadows. I can take care of myself.”
“I'm sure that’s true,” Zollin stammered, wondering how the conversation had taken such an abrupt turn. “I'm not saying that you can't learn to shoot, or that you shouldn't. It just took me by surprise, that's all.”
“It didn't surprise Mansel,” she said in a superior tone. “In fact, he thought it was great idea.”
Anger, white-hot, sprang to life in Zollin's chest. He knew that his father's apprentice was glad that Brianna had come with them. He probably hoped to win her affections, but Zollin would die before he saw Todreck's bride with that overgrown ox.
“Did he?” Zollin asked a little too angrily.
“That's right. He said he was going to give me a present soon. He even offered to give me some pointers if I wanted.”
“I'll bet he did,” Zollin said.
Just then, Quinn came into the Inn. He stomped his feet on the floor, knocking the snow off his boots. He looked up and saw them, then made his way over.
“Town Elders should be here soon. You two want to join the conversation?” he asked.
“No,” Zollin said.
“Yes,” Brianna said.
Neither one looked at the other as Quinn looked first at Zollin, then at Brianna.
“What's going on with you two?” he asked.
“Zollin was just telling me how he thought it a bad idea that I learn archery.”
“That's not what I said,” the young Wizard argued.
“No, it's what you didn't say,” Brianna snapped.
“What's that supposed to mean? How can you be mad for something I didn't say?”
“If you're too thick to figure it out, just forget it.”
“Is this making any sense to you?” Zollin asked his father.
Quinn had taken a step back, and he looked startled to be dragged back into the conversation.
“I'll need ale to understand either one of you,” he said. “A lot of ale.”
“See, your father knows how to keep his mouth shut.”
“You asked me a question. All I tried to do was answer it.”
“Well, your answer was as selfish and insensitive as you,” she said.
“Give me a break, I said I was happy for you.”
“You suppose you're happy, that's what you said.”
“I know what I said,” he snarled, his voice rising.
“You're such an idiot,” she said as tears sprang up in her eyes.
Zollin didn't reply, and she turned away. He started to walk back to his room, but then he noticed that everyone was watching him. He wasn't sure what to do, but his pride got hold of his tongue before he could think of what he was saying.
“I wish I'd never had a sister,” he said quietly.
Brianna gave him a look like he had just slapped her, then she ran down the hallway toward her room. He could hear her crying and then heard the door slam shut. He felt terrible. He hadn't really meant it, but he couldn't take it back now. He settled onto the nearest bench and stared at the table top. He was angry at himself for letting his surprise show, but that's all it was, surprise. He didn't want her in danger, that's all. Wasn't that noble? Didn't that show how much he cared about her? But then he had gone and let himself speak without thinking. How often had his father warned him about that? Now he understood, but she had pushed him into it. She just kept biting and snarling when she knew he didn't mean what she was accusing him of.
“Looks like you and your sister are getting along just as people would expect,” Quinn said, handing Zollin a mug of ale.
Zollin didn't really like ale – it was strong and pungent. He preferred sweeter drinks like cider or watered wine. But he didn't complain, just took a long drink of the frothy liquid and then wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
“She's overreacting,” Zollin said.
“You act surprised,” Quinn said.
“I am surprised. She announces that she's learning archery, and I didn't know what to say. Is that so wrong? I mean, give a guy a chance to think about something before you throw him to the wolves.”
Quinn laughed and clapped his son on the shoulder.
“You've got to have quick wit to please a girl like that,” his father said.
Zollin looked stunned, but then he noticed that the group of young girls was still sitting near the fire. They were glancing his way and then talking quietly, their conversation laced with giggles.
“I wouldn't worry about it too much,” Quinn said. “Looks like your show last night caught the attention of some of the young maidens hereabouts.”
Quinn stood and walked over to a group of men who had just come in the door. Zollin guessed that they were the town Council or town Elders or whoever was going to work through the plan of defense with his father. Zollin thought of going back to his room, but he'd been cooped up in the tiny, windowless space all day and he had a longing for fresh air. He turned and was about to stand up when Ellie appeared with a plate of food. She hadn't spoken more than a few words to him since the miners had accosted her, but now she looked in the mood for conversation.
“I brought your supper,” she said sweetly.
“Thanks,” Zollin said, taking the plate of steaming food.
“It's braised lamb with stewed vegetables and fresh barley bread. There's some soft cheese and fresh churned butter. I can get you some mustard too, if you like that on your lamb.”
“Wow,” he said, surprised. “It looks fantastic. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem. Mother likes to cook something fancy for the city Elders, but I made the bread.”
“It's wonderful,” Zollin said, pinching off a bite.
Ellie seemed pleased, and as she walked away, Zollin glanced back at the group of girls by the fire. They were watching Ellie with looks of loathing that they didn't try to conceal. Zollin wasn't all that hungry, but the food looked wonderful and he started to eat. After only a few bites, one of the girls from the fireside group came over and spoke.
“Hello, Zollin,” she said. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.
“Hi,” he said around a mouthful of food.
“Would you mind if we joined you?” the girl asked.
She looked so hopeful that Zollin didn't have the heart to say no. All he wanted was to get out of the common room and perhaps stretch his legs. But now he would have to finish his supper and probably make conversation with the group of girls.
“Sure, that would be great,” he said, trying to smile and not look distressed.
The girls flocked over, all chatting and giggling. Luckily Zollin didn't have to say much. The girls seemed satisfied to do all the talking. He listened, eating his dinner, and when the time was right, excused himself. The girls seemed a little disappointed that he was leaving, but he steeled his resolve and beat a hasty retreat to the kitchens. He intended to escape out the rear door, but as he entered the labyrinth of rooms, he came face to face with an excited Ellie.
“Oh, I was just coming to rescue you from that bunch of gossips out there,” she said.
She took his plate and set it aside and then grabbed his hand and led him back toward a dark room that was full of barrels, some filled with wine and others with ale. There was a large barrel to one side with a whit
e cloth draped over it. On the barrel were a candle, a pie, two plates, and two cups of wine. Zollin felt ambushed. He had gone from one uncomfortable situation right into another. It looked like Ellie had something planned, and while he didn't want to hurt her feelings, all he really wanted was to get out of the Inn.
“I thought you might like some dessert,” she said, stepping close to him. She moved her hand until her fingers were entwined with his. Despite his desire to leave, he felt his heart beating faster and his breath coming in shallow gasps. “Or we could do something else.”
She was looking up into his eyes, and Zollin noticed how the light danced in her large, dark eyes. She had a pleasant face and her lips seemed to shimmer in the light of the candle.
Five Kingdoms: Books 01, 02 & 03 Page 24