Heirs of Vanity- The Complete First Trilogy Box Set

by R J Hanson

  Mist surrounded the friends and clouded out the world around them. They all looked around to find themselves a few miles from the main gate of Modins. Dizziness struck them all as a kind of vertigo caused the world around them to swim in and out of focus. After a few moments their surroundings cleared. Roland recognized the place immediately. This was the battle field where he was sure he, Eldryn, and Ashcliff would die at Dawn and Yorketh’s hands. Roland looked at Clairenese wondering about that day.

  “That was fantastic!” Tindrakin exclaimed. The others were not quite so sure.

  “I have my uses,” Clairenese said as she gave Roland a smile bathed in guile.

  The companions rode for the front gate. Roland headed for the market place near the docks of the great city. He had remembered passing a great stone building near the docks that had been vacant when he had been here nearly six months prior.

  “Why don’t we go see Petie now?” Eldryn asked.

  “I have some business to take care of first,” Roland said. “I will have a great deal to tell Petie, and I would like to have some of those things taken care of first.”

  “As you will,” Eldryn said. “But hurry.”

  Roland smiled at Eldryn.

  “I miss him as much as you do, El.”

  The group went to the same stable that Sir Roland and Sir Eldryn had used the last time they were in Modins. The horses were stabled and Eldryn made sure they would be well cared for. Roland led the group through the streets of the great city until he found the building he had remembered and discovered that it remained vacant. Peering through one of the two windows on the front he saw that the inside of the building was filthy, but still seemed solid. Tindrakin found an old piece of paper nailed to the door.

  “Property of the harbor master,” Tindrakin read.

  “Back taxes,” Marnie said.

  When the rest of the group just looked at her, she realized she would need to explain.

  “The proprietor owes, or owed, taxes to the harbor master for shipping,” Marnie continued. “It is a separate tax from that of the city and is often smoothed over with contraband of one sort or another. Harbor masters have many means of harvesting coin from the sea.”

  “I need to find the harbor master then,” Roland said stepping back from the window.

  “I suppose we should head toward the harbor then,” Eldryn said.

  The group walked toward the harbor and, after some effort, found the office of the harbor master. Roland walked up the ancient plank steps that led to the clap board shack.

  “I need to speak to the harbor master,” Roland said to a greasy man leaning over ledgers at the desk inside.

  “You are speaking to him,” the unwashed man replied. “What do you want.”

  “I understand that the heavy stone building two streets over and three streets up belongs to you,” Roland said. “I came here to purchase it.”

  “I see by your markings that you are a knight,” the harbor master replied. “Therefore, I’ll not be rude when I say this. That building came to the harbor master’s office because of back taxes. The building itself would be pricey. But to use it for anything would also mean the payment of those taxes. It is a hefty sum.”

  “How much,” Roland said flatly.

  “One hundred gold coins,” the harbor master said with a condescending tone. “One hundred gold coins and not a single silver less.”

  “This is a Roarke’s Ore coin,” Sir Roland said producing the rare and valuable metal from his pouch. “I will require a deed of course. And a receipt showing the taxes paid.”

  The blood drained from the harbor master’s face. He had never even seen a Roarke’s Ore coin.

  “Very well, my lord,” the greasy man said. “Give me just a moment.”

  Roland walked back down the steps with a deed and receipt in one hand, and a set of large keys in the other.

  “Well, we now have a building,” Roland said as the group began back toward the city. “It is a start. Facl, I have much to see to. I want you and Tyll to find a black smith, and a bookkeeper to help you. I want you to begin preparing the shop for a shipment of weapons. I need it set up and ready to run within the week. Can you do that?”

  “It will take some coin, my lord,” Facl said.

  “Here,” Roland said as he gave Facl fifty gold coins. “That should take care of the first two months’ expenses. I have a receipt here for taxes paid through the fall, so that should not be a problem for the time being.”

  “Yes, sire,” Facl said.

  Facl looked to Tyll.

  “If you plan on doing business at the port, then you will need a dock as well,” Marnie said. “It is easy enough to pay a fee each time a ship docks, but it would be much more cost effective to own a slip if you plan on doing much shipping at all.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Roland said. “Would you be willing to handle the negotiations?”

  “Me?” Marnie said. “They won’t talk to a young girl about business.”

  “If they won’t then they will miss out on the coin that young girl represents,” Roland said handing her several more of the Roakor coins.

  Marnie beamed a smile but then darted her eyes to Eldryn again.

  “If you are thinking of asking my permission, then you have it,” Eldryn said. “We would miss you on the trail, but you are needed here. I would like someone around that knows the Code that Petie could call on if he needed help. I would like someone near him that knows the spear too.”

  Marnie nodded her head and looked back at Roland.

  “I assume you have no idea what to pay a Manager of Affairs,” Marnie said.

  “None,” was Roland’s only response.

  “Very well,” she said. “I will prepare the figures and we will discuss them later.”

  Roland nodded and Marnie stuck out her hand. Roland took her hand in a shake that was firm and all business.

  “Well,” Roland said with a smile, “you two should get started. I have much to do.”

  “Yes, sire,” Facl and Tyll said with grins.

  They sped off into the town. Marnie nodded and looked off toward the dock.

  “Not just yet,” Roland said. “Marnie, you should meet Petie as well. He’s a fine boy and only a few years younger than you.”

  Marnie gave Roland a suspicious look, however, when she considered how much this visit clearly meant to Eldryn, she nodded.

  “Pala, I need you to purchase two hundred pounds of wheat, fifty pounds of salt, fifty pounds of sweet cane, eight milk goats and four milk cows,” Roland said as he gave him a small pouch of gold coins. “That should more than cover it. We will also need a wagon to carry those goods in, along with mules to pull it. Meet me with those items outside of town by this time tomorrow. The spot that we ‘arrived’ at.”

  “Yes, sire,” Pala said.

  “And Pala,” Roland said.

  “Yes, sire?”

  “Enjoy the coin you have left after those purchases are taken care of,” Roland said. “We will have a long road that begins tomorrow. Enjoy the city while you can.”

  “Yes Sir!”

  “I don’t fully understand,” Eldryn said. “And frankly I don’t care. May we go see Petie now?”

  “Absolutely,” Roland said. He extended his elbow toward Clairenese. “My dear?”

  She took his arm and Sir Roland, Sir Eldryn, Clairenese, Tindrakin, Marnie and a silent and watchful Kodii headed down the street together, bound for the Silver Helm academy. As Roland approached, he could feel himself wanting to run to the gate. He restrained himself but he did see that Eldryn seemed to be having a similar difficulty. They approached the gate and were challenged by a very young warrior standing guard. Roland guessed the boy to be no older than fourteen.

  “Hold,” the young man said. “State your business.”

  “I am Sir Roland of Lawrec,” Roland said. “This is my wife-to-be, Lady Clairenese, my friend Sir Eldryn and his squire, Tindrakin, and ou
r friends Kodii of the Zepute, and Mandurelle our Manager of Affairs.”

  “State your business, please,” the young warrior said with a professional tone.

  “I am here to visit my son,” Roland’s voice almost faltered on those last words.

  “His name, Sir Roland?”

  “Petie, that is to say, Peterion.”

  “Very well, Sir Roland. I shall inform the Watch Sergeant. Please wait here.”

  “As you say,” Roland replied.

  They waited at the gate for a few moments and then Roland and Eldryn saw a man they recognized. Sgt. Walkenn approached them.

  “Good afternoon, Sir Roland and Sir Eldryn,” Sgt. Walkenn said. “I understand you are here to visit with Peterion?”

  “Yes, Sergeant,” Roland said. “That is correct.”

  “Might I talk with you in private first?”

  “Certainly,” Roland said.

  The two men stepped away from Clairenese and Sir Eldryn. Eldryn paced back and forth. He had waited almost as long as he would be able to.

  “Sir Roland, you stated that Peterion was your son?”

  “I did.”

  “I have noticed that Peterion is of common blood, whereas you are quite obviously of the Great Man race.”

  “His mother was a small woman,” which, Roland thought, was not technically a lie.

  “I would not dare doubt your word,” Sgt. Walkenn said with a smile. “It was, however, a point that my superiors wished cleared up. I hope you understand.”

  “Certainly.”

  “There is another thing I would like to say while we are in private,” Sgt. Walkenn said.

  “Go on,” Roland said.

  “Peterion shows great promise. He is smart, strong, and tough. He is, however, very stubborn. As you know, our typical training involves training a boy to be a warrior, and an officer in the armies of the King at the very least. However, special training is reserved for the Silver Helms. The training for the Silver Helm requires a parent’s consent due to the level of severity required to produce a true Silver Helm. I think Peterion is quite capable of being one of the better Silver Helms I have ever trained. I do, however, need your consent to put him through that training.”

  “What does Peterion say?”

  “I haven’t spoken to him on the subject,” Sgt. Walkenn said. “However, I think I know him well enough to say that if I told him it would be tougher training, he would jump at the chance. He already trains with boys two and three years older than he is.”

  The two discussed the details and schedule of the Silver Helm training.

  “Then you have my consent,” Roland said. “As long as it is what Petie wants.”

  “Very well,” Sgt. Walkenn said. “Shall I go and get him? I am sure your time is limited.”

  “Yes, please do,” Roland said.

  Roland returned to Eldryn, Claire, and the others with air in his heavy boots. He struggled to contain the pride that wanted to burst from his chest. He knew that Peterion was not of his blood, but he had made the boy his own in his heart.

  A short time later a boy with sun-bleached blonde hair and piercing blue eyes walked from the stone barracks near the back of the compound. Roland and Eldryn almost didn’t recognize him. Petie had grown at least four inches and had gained several pounds of muscle.

  Petie kept a gait of precision next to Sgt. Walkenn as they walked toward the visitors.

  “We came for a short visit,” Roland said. “I also needed to introduce you to someone.”

  Petie walked up before Roland and stood there at attention. Roland stepped forward and kneeled down holding his arms out wide. Suddenly Petie ran to him hugging him and holding him. Eldryn waited anxiously for Petie to be free of Roland’s grasp so he could hug the boy that he had missed so much. Once freed from Roland, Petie was grabbed up from the ground by Eldryn and held high in his hands. El’ pulled Petie to him and hugged him with love that was genuine and true. Tears began in Eldryn’s eyes and he returned Petie to the ground.

  “This is Tindrakin, Sir Eldryn’s apprentice,” Roland said indicating Tin. “This is Kodii, our good friend. This is Mandurelle, called Marnie, and she has agreed to be our Manager of Affairs here in Modins. This is Clairenese. She is to be my bride, and your new mother.”

  Petie nodded to each of them in turn until he came to Claire.

  “You are beautiful, ma’am,” Petie said. “I will work hard to make you proud to call me your son.”

  Clairenese smiled. She could easily see why Roland loved this boy so much.

  “I am already proud to call you my son,” Clairenese said. “Our home will always be your home.”

  Petie took the group on a tour of the training compound. He showed them the different obstacle courses, the sparing fields, the barracks, and the riding grounds.

  “We usually work fourteen to sixteen hours a day on training,” Petie said. “We do, however, get every holy day off.”

  “Petie,” Roland said. “There is something that we need to talk about. Sgt. Walkenn has said that he would like to put you into the Silver Helm training. That would mean that you would have to stay here a few more years, and work much harder. You should be honored to be considered for the training.”

  “I am honored, father,” Petie said with a glow on his face. “How much longer would the training be?”

  “You are twelve now,” Roland said. “Your regular training here would be done in two years, during your fourteenth year. The Silver Helm training is much harder. They only get four days a year off, and they work sixteen hours a day and no less. You would be in school here until your seventeenth year.”

  Petie looked at the ground and then away to the sky. He thought for several moments and then looked back to Sir Roland and Sir Eldryn.

  “In five years, I could wear a Silver Helm?”

  “Yes, Petie,” Eldryn said. “You could be one of the Silver Helms. You have the stuff to do it.”

  “Father, Uncle Eldryn, Mother, I would like to be a Silver Helm.”

  “Very well,” Roland said. “I will see to it that the arrangements are made with the Sergeant. I will also make sure that I know when those holidays are so that we can come to see you. Do you have your own bunk and personal belongings?”

  “I do.”

  “Then take this,” Roland said as he handed Petie three Roarke’s Ore coins. “Keep these safe. These will see you through should you need anything at all. I have a weapons shop now here in Modins. The man running it is Facl. He will be working with several other men there, and Marnie here. They will each know your name. Should you need anything you let them know. I am a knight of Lawrec now, and, therefore, will be far away most of the time. I will return for you. What a proud knight I would be to have the opportunity to serve with a Silver Helm.”

  Petie took the three valuable coins, smiled, and hugged Roland again. Then he turned and hugged Eldryn. Much to her surprise and delight, he also hugged Clairenese in her turn.

  “You should get back to your training now,” Roland said. “The path of the Silver Helm is not an easy one. Remember that the only time a warrior knows defeat…”

  “…is when he quits,” Petie finished.

  Roland smiled.

  “Yes, when he quits,” Roland said.

  “Quoth Arto,” said Eldryn which made Petie laugh.

  Claire decided that she loved that laugh.

  “Take care of yourself, son,” Roland said. “When the time is right you will join me in Skult.”

  Petie walked away several paces back toward the stone barracks. He stopped half way and turned back toward the group to wave. He found all of them still looking after him, still there for him. Petie had never felt so loved as he did at that moment.

  “He is a fine lad,” Tindrakin said. “And studying to be a Silver Helm! Imagine that.”

  Roland had hoped that Petie would be able to join them for dinner in the city of Modins that evening. However, Sgt. Walkenn had said th
at once a student begins training, they are not permitted to leave until either their training is finished, they are kicked out, or they’re dead. It was harsh training after all.

  Sir Roland, Clairenese, and the others all headed out of the gate and back toward the streets of the great city of Modins.

  “What else did you have in mind, o’ great leader?” Eldryn asked with a bit of sarcasm. However, his light-heartedness could not be concealed. Seeing Peterion had been a salve to his soul.

  Clairenese seemed slightly shocked but Tindrakin had grown accustomed to El’s humor. Roland smiled. That was the way he had learned to deal with El’s idea of humor.

  “I need to write a letter to father,” Roland said. “Then I suppose we head out for the dwarven mines south of Dalloth. I thought about doing some business with them.”

  “I guess now you can write your father and tell him his son has made well on his promise to make up for his mistake?” Eldryn asked, still sarcastic.

  “I must tell him about the wedding,” Roland said. “I hope the news about our knighthoods will please him.”

  “I would also like to write a letter to mother,” El’ said. “There is much that she should know.”

  “Your father has a number of reasons to be proud,” Clairenese said to Roland.

  “You don’t know him, Claire,” Roland said looking off to the east. “He is a good man, the best man. I have tried hard, but I haven’t lived up to his example. He never would have allowed the situation with Prince Ralston’s rescue to become so desperate. If it had not been for Gallis Argenti we would have failed and gotten the rest of the knights and paladins killed with us. Father never would have allowed Engiyadu to live. He certainly would not have run from him as I did.”

  “I am beginning to understand why Sir Eldryn is of the opinion that you are too hard on yourself,” Clairenese said in her rich and loving voice. “You place a lot of pressure on Lord Velryk as well.”

  Clairenese’s voice as much as her words brought Roland back to the present. He looked around at his love and his friends.

  “I am truly a lucky man,” Roland said. “Let us enjoy our evening in the city.”

  The group of friends headed for one of the better taverns in Modins for an exotic dinner. Well, all of them except for Kodii.