The Swordmaster, page 24
‘You might as well leave it be,’ said a deep voice.
Two green eyes over two wrinkly pouches peered down at her. A worn sword hilt dangled in front of her nose. A special sword, she saw that immediately. And presumably a man who knew how to use it – Garemalan, the jade warrior, the present Grand Swordmaster.
‘May I join you?’
‘No.’
The old man sat down. She expected him to sigh and groan – but no tone passed his lips.
Except for: ‘Thank you – very kind of you.’ The warrior stretched out his legs. ‘My name is Forand. Linnek told me that he knows you.’
Was that a question? She said nothing.
‘You are something special. That always makes me curious.’
She looked at him from the side. ‘Oh?’
‘I would never have reached my age if I hadn’t noticed that you are carrying daggers in your sleeves and your boots. Along with the visible weapons, of course. Linnek tells me that you are a dab hand at using them, too.’
‘Are you called Forand like Linnek is called Linnek?’
‘Yes – we all have our little secrets.’
‘What do you want?’
‘We are on the point of war. There are, as in all wars, at least two sides – otherwise it would be boring. And I feel it is my responsibility to find out on whose side the people in my immediate vicinity are.’
‘I am on my side.’
The old man nodded. ‘Good.’ He asked in a low voice: ‘What is your opinion of Karek?’
These constant conversations were gradually becoming rampant.
‘He’s a bit plump around the hips. Although – he has been worse.’
The warrior seemed to possess a similar sense of humour to hers. Namely, none. Which was why he didn’t laugh. Nor did his wrinkles wrinkle any more.
‘You are the crow. Therefore, it should not surprise you that I am reacting to you with a certain amount of caution – especially as I have five – six if I include Milafine – charges in my care, old as I am.’
‘Did Karek tell you that – about the crow, I mean?’
‘No – powers of observation and deduction.’
‘Fair play to you.’
‘I fear we shall never become friends.’ Now the old man sighed for the first time.
‘I fear we shall become friends. Unimaginable.’
‘Stay away from my companions. That is my advice. I will be watching you.’ His voice betrayed not a hint of a threat. But she knew how to value such a statement from such a man.
‘Listen to me, old man. I’m only going to say this once. I won’t touch a hair on the heads of any of your companions as long as they don’t attack me first. You have said what you have wanted to say without asking me for permission. Now it is my turn. I have one advantage over you. I know who you are while you have no idea of who you are dealing with here. Try not to find out either – leave things as they are is my tip. In other words, leave me in peace. That is my advice.’
The old warrior got to his feet and nodded. He didn’t seem particularly impressed. Then he walked off towards the prow.
She remained sitting. What a moron. It was said that Garemalan had disappeared many years ago – towards the south, they had thought. She had noticed the chain around his neck with the four letters on a medallion. MAKS. It all made sense. This grouchy old codger had to be Sara’s father. Instead of rushing off to Cragwater and pleading for forgiveness from his daughter, from whom he had pissed off overnight with no explanation whatsoever, he was putting on airs before innocent, peace-loving ladies.
Nothing was as it had been. When was the last time that she had actually killed anyone? Oh, yes, when she was in Woguran’s camp and had twisted the neck of that bastard friend of his. Crack. That was a long time ago – she knew she was missing something.
Tanderheim
The silhouette of Tanderheim appeared to the west. Karek and Milafine were leaning against the railing.
‘I think it’s sad that we must go our separate ways in Tanderheim,’ said the prince.
Milafine was trying to catch her hair, which was blowing in the wind. ‘Let me know when you are back again.’
His heart was beating faster – that always happened when she was nearby. ‘I don’t know what will be waiting for us in Soradar. But no matter what happens, we will be returning via Tanderheim and will knock on your grandmother’s door.’
‘Ah, here you are.’ Blinn had arrived at precisely the wrong moment, something which didn’t seem to bother him a bit. ‘How far is it from the harbour to your grandmother’s house?’
‘Not far. You will be rid of me in no time.’
‘Och, ideally, we’d love to bring you with us – isn’t that right, Linnek?’
His pronunciation of ‘Linnek’ was so bizarre, that even the most dull-witted listener would understand that there was something not quite right about the name.
The harbour in Tanderheim smelled of fish, salt and a mixture of other aromas, depending on what cargo was being loaded or unloaded at any particular time. Thousands of seagulls, grey and white artists of the air, flew high over the docks, low between the ships, and down onto the streets, where at every corner they snatched any bits of fish or other debris that attracted their attention. This city was Toladar’s main trading hub with the rest of the world, especially with Soradar and the Southern Islands. Built into the rock, it was made up of a myriad of layered streets, one above another. The clay colour of the buildings shone warmly in the sun, the sea generously refrained from tossing large waves landward and the ‘East Wind’ glided gently towards the dock allotted to it by the harbourmaster. The dockworkers quickly tied the ship to the massive bollards, enabling the first of the passengers to disembark. Karek looked out for black leather clothing but saw none.
Brawl, Blinn and himself had agreed to accompany Milafine to her grandmother and then use the unexpected hours of free time available – the captain having some unexpected business – to look around the harbour and the marketplace.
The others stayed on board as they set off with the girl. They walked up the cobbled main street until they had ascended about halfway up the hill. Milafine knocked on the door of a pretty little house to the left. A toothless beldam welcomed her heartily, delighted to have her granddaughter back with her again. A short time later, Brawl, Blinn and Karek bade farewell and made their way towards the city centre.
Karek wondered to himself if he had done the right thing in resisting the temptation to hug Milafine briefly when they had said goodbye.
Darn it – I should have done it. And why didn’t I? I would have shown her how much she means to me.
Why hadn’t he done it? Was it because Brawl was with them and would undoubtedly have made a smart-arsed comment?
Boy, of boy! I really am a daredevil. Next time, I’ll make a better job of it.
It took a while, but then he began to notice how much more exotic the ambience of Tanderheim was when compared to Cragwater. There were women with shorn heads and nose rings as large as horseshoes – like one would see in the climes of the Southern Islands. A merchant was selling weapons the likes of which he had never seen before – long, thin swords in the shape of a tautened bow. Other swords boasted a hemispherical shield at the grip, resembling a soup bowl instead of a crossguard. And over there was a stall holder, peddling exotic birds in enormous cages.
‘Hey, I’ve never seen the likes of those before. Let’s go closer.’ Already, Brawl was pushing his way through the crowd. The boys stood in front of the cages and looked at what was within them.
The peddler with his enormous moustache that resembled the horns of an ox eyed them sceptically before snorting: ‘If ye’re only going to stand there and stare, ye can piss off out of here!’
Brawl turned to face him, drawing himself up to his full height until the two of them were facing each other, chest to chest. ‘Are you talking to me, Bird Brain?’ he growled back.
Blinn and Karek moved towards them, which didn’t exactly de-escalate the situation, neither of them looking like serious or, more importantly, well-heeled customers. Nonetheless, the peddler moderated his tone somewhat, now having three ne’er-do-wells in close proximity.
‘Ye’re driving away genuine potential customers and stopping them from examining my wares,’ he grumbled.
Karek looked at the birds. They resembled fluffy spheres with muscular legs and were roughly the size of a hen.
‘These are Kabos. They’re only chicks but be careful with your hands or they will hack off your fingers.’
The prince leaned forward, stuck his forefinger in between two bars and gently stroked the bird. The bird stretched up its neck, its little head rising up from the sphere and observing him as it rubbed its golden beak this way and that on his finger. Blinn was about to do the same thing in the adjoining cage, but the young Kabo threw itself angrily at the bars, hacking wildly with its beak, which seemed more white than golden.
‘Wow, Linnek – however do you do it?’
The peddler snorted angrily: ‘Be off with ye! Ye’re making the animals nervous.’
The prince, fascinated, stared into the cage. The bird was picking affectionately at his fingernail. What was going on here? It suddenly seemed as though he were hearing a voice. Deep in the back of his head, someone was whispering. A susurrant sound, like a song at first, a melodious whoosh of vowels, then turning into the words coming from a woman unknown to him: ‘Not back. Not back to the ship. Not back.’
Karek turned around with a jolt. His comrades were otherwise engaged, for Brawl and the peddler were still standing, chest against chest, like lovers, while Blinn was peeking into the next cage, from where a lynx was snarling angrily out at him.
The prince had heard and read about the Kabos – those enormous and strange birds from the deep south. But now that he was standing opposite one for the first time, he found himself completely confused by the voice. He leaned down closer to the cage.
‘Not back to the ship.’
Karek blocked his ears with his two forefingers for a moment and shook his head. Then he asked the peddler: ‘Where did you get them from?’
‘Laddie! Where d’ya think they come from? They only exist on the largest of the Southern Islands – the island of Hakot. Are ya gonna buy one now or not?’
‘How much is a Kabo?’
‘If the animal is fully grown, its eyes alone are worth four large gold coins minimum. Ruffians like ye wouldn’t be able to afford one, anyway. Now piss off.’
The sounds in his head disappeared. Blinn and Brawl pulled the prince away, while Karek looked at the bird in astonishment.
As they were passing an establishment, clearly a whorehouse, Brawl stopped and winked at one of the two scantily clad women standing in unmistakably provocative poses at the front door.
‘Hey, you three,’ called out the one whom Brawl had gestured to, ‘Would you like to be well and truly pampered? The two of us…’ at this point she grinned at her partner, ‘…will give you a special rate – we can attend to three greenhorns for the price of two.’
Brawl, as keen as mustard, turned to the others. ‘Come on lads, let’s gobble them up.’
Karek was still stunned by his encounter with the Kabo chick and the peculiar voice in the back of his head.
He stammered: ‘Brawl – some…something isn’t right.’
‘Pshaw! You’ll manage it – your first time, what? Just what I thought.’
‘What? No, no – I have another problem.’
Brawl groaned. Then it struck him. ‘You prefer boys, is it? Right, we’re in the wrong place then. At the harbour, there you’ll find…’
‘NO, Brawl. I’m taking about at the bird peddler’s, the Kabo. He warned us.’
‘About the two whores? They won’t do anything to us – well, maybe just a little. But that’s why we’re going to pay them.’ He winked at the women, which was sufficient to animate one of them into demonstratively stroking her breasts.
‘No. About returning to the ship.’
At last, Brawl got the message and turned all his attention to the prince. ‘You’re for the birds. What are you trying to tell us?’
Blinn looked at Karek with concern. ‘Are you alright?’
Karek gave a dismissive wave. ‘I know, I know. It sounds weird. But let us act with special care now. Which also means, that I’m not up to visiting the whorehouse at this point.’
‘Yeah, but I’m definitely up for it.’ Brawl grinned filthily, leading his companions a little away, nonetheless.
‘What are you afraid of, Linnek?’ asked Blinn.
‘It’s just a feeling – or intuition if you like. Let’s take that path ahead of us and go up the hill. I think we’ll be able to get a good view of the harbour from the top.’
Brawl shrugged his shoulders and yelled at the two whores: ‘Next time, my beauties. I’ll come on my own, though. I won’t be needing those two chickens for you pair.’
The resultant squawks of delight from the two ladies would have done a gaggle of geese proud.
The sun was at its zenith, it was burning too brightly for an autumn day and the three of them were sweating like cheese in a hot oven as they hurried up the hill.
‘You’re hearing and seeing ghosts,’ complained Blinn. The prince turned around and looked down at the city, most of which was now below them. They had a good view of the sea and the harbour from their vantage point too.
Brawl seemed less than impressed by the turn of events. ‘Instead of showing the whores what we have, we’re sweating up here in the dust. I haven’t had a woman in months.’
Hm. Me neither. Not only in months but never in point of fact.
Karek said: ‘Let’s wait here for a moment and see if we notice anything unusual.’
The urgency in his voice seemed to persuade the others. Brawl sat down on a rock and scrabbled the dirt with his feet. ‘The girl that you were standing beside on the ship is really hot. Wouldn’t mind her either.’
It took the prince a moment for the import of those words to sink in. Then he was suddenly so overcome by fury and jealousy that it took a great effort for him not to attack his stronger companion. He couldn’t bear the thought of anyone referring to Milafine in such terms. ‘Brawl, you bastard. Don’t you dare lay a finger on her.’
Brawl looked at him in astonishment. ‘You listen very carefully to me now. If you think that I am going to give you any special treatment, Your Highness, then you’re greatly mistaken. It seems it’s been way too long since I last smashed your gob in.’
Blinn interrupted: ‘I’m delighted that the two of you understand each other. But what, or rather who is that?’ he pointed towards the north.
Still beside himself with rage, Karek glanced in the direction indicated and saw a massive plume of dust. It was rolling towards Tanderheim like an enormous wheel. At least forty riders were approaching the edge of the city at high speed.
Karek suppressed his anger momentarily, remembering the responsibility he bore. He pointed at the troop that was now thundering towards the harbour.
‘I want to get a better look at them. Perhaps they are somehow connected with the Kabo’s warning. Come on!’ The prince held out his hand to Brawl and pulled him up from his sitting position.
‘Hm,’ grumbled Brawl monosyllabically.
Luckily, Blinn had already run ahead to wait for the troop on the main street. Soon a horde of riders rode past. Heavily armed men, most of them dressed in grey, reinforced, leather armour.
Blinn grabbed Karek’s upper arm: ‘Did you see the two at the very front? They’re the pair that lured To Shyr Ban away from the fortress. One of them with gloves and dressed in fine clothing like a parrot, and the other with a shabby cloak.’
‘Mercenaries. And they’re riding to the harbour.’ Karek swallowed hard.
‘Either you’ve just seen ghosts, or we are in deep shit,’ was Brawl’s analysis of the situation.
‘More likely the latter, and up to our necks in it,’ confirmed Karek. ‘Let us watch and see what happens next, for it will be impossible for us to get to the ship in time to warn the others.’
‘Do you really think they’re after us?’ Brawl was yet to be fully convinced.
A short time later they were in no doubt. They watched in horror as the horses galloped straight towards the ‘East Wind’ before seizing the ship with swords drawn.
Brawl asked: ‘Hang on. What’s going on?’
Blinn looked at Karek: ‘Siblings be damned, how did you know that it was better for us to stay here?’
‘I’m not sure myself, but I tried explaining it to you earlier. I know that it would sound too ridiculous for you to believe if I were to tell you that the Kabo chick told me. More important now is, what do we do?’ The prince tried to suppress the frustration in his voice, only partially succeeding, however. His two companions looked as glum as he was feeling.
Karek summarised the situation: ‘Let us gather the facts. This troop belongs to Duke Schohtar, for he is behind the murder of To Shyr Ban. Schohtar is also after Forand and me. Judging by the way they galloped past us directly towards the ‘East Wind’, we can assume that the ruffians knew precisely that we had to be on that ship, which is currently docked in Tanderheim harbour. Very few people have access to that knowledge.’
Blinn was able to follow him. ‘Someone spilled the beans.’
‘And not many fit the bill.’
‘What do we do now? The situation is dangerous for everyone on board – especially for Forand.’
‘How can we help?’
They peered at the ‘East Wind’ again. What was happening on the ship?
Karek noticed a large building nearby – written over the broad entrance in gold letters were the words: ‘Tanderheim Library’. Not for the first time, he wondered about the high value ascribed to the written word in Toladar when not even a twentieth of the population had mastered the art of reading. But libraries served as cultural centres, as expressions of wealth and as symbols of their city’s significance. And because Tanderheim was one of the greatest coastal cities on the eastern sea, it boasted a library worthy of its status.
