Traders and Traitors
By Loren K. Jones
Twilight Times Books
Kingsport Tennessee
Traders and Traitors
This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Loren K. Jones. Expanded and revised from a previous electronic edition published by e-Quill Publishing, Brisbane, Australia 2010 with title "Traders and Traitors."
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Twilight Times Books
P O Box 3340
Kingsport, TN 37664
www.twilighttimesbooks.com/
Revised Electronic Edition: October 2016. Author's preferred version.
Published in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 1
STAVIN KEL'ANISTON SNEEZED MIGHTILY AS HE sorted through the old scrolls and books in the Kavinston Archive. Whatever he might be during the season when the young warriors went to the low lands as caravan guards, Warleader Sixth of Kel'Kavin, Friend of Evandia, or recipient of dragon-scale armor from the dragon on the mountain, during the winter he was Apprentice Scribe Stavin, and his main duty was finding scrolls for his wife, Sharindis, or their master. He found the scroll he was searching for and carefully made his way out of the archive’s storage room. He spent a few moments brushing off the worst of the dust before going to deliver the scroll to his wife.
Sharindis was at her sun-lit table in the corner of the Archive’s office, using her new crystal to help her read and copy an old scroll. She heard the door open and looked toward it, smiling at the dim shadow of her husband. "Did you find it?" she asked.
"Yes, and it's in good shape," he replied, unrolling the scroll and reading a bit of it. "There's hardly any fading at all."
"That's good. Even with my new crystal, I can barely make out most of this one," she said, gesturing toward the ancient scroll on her brightly lit desk.
"Then why don't you trade with me? I'll take over copying that one and you can start on this one," Stavin suggested. He looked at the manuscript she had been copying and shook his head. Even with good eyesight, he could barely make out parts of it.
Shari leaned over and kissed him, and the quick peck she had intended turned into something longer and much more intense. "Thank you." She sighed. "My eyes were starting to hurt."
Stavin chuckled and carefully removed the manuscript from her table, then her copy. He replaced them with the other manuscript and a fresh, blank scroll. "There you are. Now, if Master Kel'Zorgan doesn't send me looking for something else, I might get some of it done before--"
"Ah, Stavin, there you are," Master Kel'Zorgan said from the doorway. "Did you find the treaty scroll?"
"Yes, Sir," Stavin answered.
"Good. What shape is it in?"
"Better than most, Sir," Stavin answered.
The old Master Scribe hummed for a moment. "Give it to Shari, and you take over that one. I can barely read that mess."
"Yes, Sir," Stavin replied, not bothering to tell their master that they had already done what he'd just ordered.
"Very good. Carry on, now. I have a class waiting for their history lesson." He bustled off while Stavin and Shari went back to work.
As Stavin worked, he let his mind wander back a year. He'd climbed the mountain in order to prove himself to Dorvina Kel'Carin so she would consent to marry him. He'd refused to run away from the magically induced fear that the dragon used to keep intruders away, and the dragon had rewarded his bravery with golden armor made from its own scales. He'd come down the mountain a changed man in more ways than just the golden dragon-scale armor. Events had conspired to deny him Dorvina anyway, and he reflected that was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Though Sharindis could barely see, she was a scribe, like he wanted to be. They were well-matched in most things, even if she was two hands taller. That didn't matter to either of them. Their minds and temperaments matched, and that's what really counted.
Stavin stifled a chuckle as he thought of how things had worked out. Dorvina had wanted to marry Harner Kel'Chamlin, but he'd proven himself to be less of a man than she had hoped. In the end she rejected Harner, and accepted Darak Kel'Markat instead. Stavin had become friends with Darak, and the look of misery in his friend's eyes lately made it clear that Dorvina was not the ideal mate he'd thought she would be.
Stavin and Shari spent their time in the archive or at home together, enjoying one another's company as they read or studied. They had both been loners for a long time before they found each other, and they found being married to be so much more than either of them had dreamed.
Several days later, they were relaxing in bed on their rest day. Shari traced circles on Stavin's bare chest with her fingers. "You know, Stavin, the Gods Above must like me."
"They have reason to, but what makes you say that now?" Stavin asked.
"They gave me you," she replied, laying her cheek against his chest.
Stavin chuckled. "They must love me, then."
Shari wrapped an arm across his stomach and squeezed. "I love you."
"I love you, too. How are you feeling?"
"I don't have morning sickness anymore, thank the Gods Above." Then she chuckled and asked. "Why?"
Stavin slid down so he could kiss her. His world was complete, so long as he had her. The long years of fighting to be accepted as a man had come to an end after the first night of their marriage, and he’d been accepted by the people of Kavinston as well. For the most part, at least.
There was still some jealousy of his accomplishments during his first expedition. I should have expected that. After all, he'd earned well over fifteen thousand gold crowns. Well, it had been given to him because of the King of Evandia's favor, but it was his by right. He'd also killed thirty men in combat and become the first man in the history of Kel'Kavin to earn an officer's star on his first expedition to the low lands. What most of the jealous people seemed to forget was that every one of those men had been trying to kill him as well, and most of them had been half again his size. He had proof at last that even though he hadn't grown a finger's width since he'd had that fever when he was ten, he was a true warrior.
There had also been one last incident early in the winter between Stavin and his childhood tormenters. That incident had left him with a new form of amusement during his hours training with the rest of the young warriors.
Chapter 2
HARNER KEL'CHAMLI
N WAS IN A STUNNED funk for weeks after his petition of marriage had been rejected by Dorvina Kel'Carin. He spent his empty hours reviewing everything, going over it in his mind again and again. He knew, in spite of what Elder Kel'Carin and the others had said, that Stavin the Runt hadn't made a single kill. He knew it. The Runt had somehow forced Barvil to say he'd made those kills, and Barvil had taken care of the others. It had to be that way.
He knew that Barvil had to have been the one who'd turned Dorvina against him as well. She was an obedient daughter, and would do as her father commanded. It was one of the things he loved most about her. She would obey her husband just as she obeyed her father.
It was the Runt who had ruined his life. It had always been the Runt, especially when he had been bigger than Harner, back before he'd stopped growing. As soon as he was the bigger boy, he'd shown the Runt how tough he was. He and his friends had beaten the Runt bloody, stripped him to the skin, and thrown him in a snowdrift.
Now, it was time for another lesson for the Runt.
Harner and his friends, Jallav, Lanik, and Heral, met after their mandatory practice day with the Warmaster and made their plan. "He'll run away like the coward we all know he is, and that'll show everyone that I'm right about him." Harner laughed.
Jallav asked, "Harner, are you sure about this? I mean, what if he doesn't run?"
"He always runs," Harner snapped as he glared at his friend. "He's a coward. He won't face me."
The next day, Harner and his friends were waiting for Stavin as he walked past after his day of practice, and announced their presence by striking him in the back and sending him sprawling in the slushy street. Stavin came up immediately, crouching as his hands flexed around a weapon he didn't have.
"Wah, wah, Runt. Run, crying, home to your mama," Harner taunted.
Stavin's lip curled in contempt as he brushed himself off. "Haven't you got anything better to do, Harner?" he asked, ignoring the rest.
"You need a lesson, Runt," Jallav snarled as he took a menacing step toward Stavin.
Stavin laughed. "Are you going to teach me?" he asked. "You stayed home instead of joining the expedition. What lesson are you going to teach me?"
"You better run, Runt," Heral said, taking a step forward, but Stavin's laughter stopped him in his tracks.
"What are you laughing at, Runt?" Harner demanded.
"You. The four of you. Do you think you can take me with just four men? Am I so fearsome that--?"
"What's the meaning of this?" a voice demanded.
All five youths turned to find Elders Kel'Landis and Kel'Narin standing in the street.
"We were just--" Lanik began, but was silenced.
"You were just about to attack Warleader Sixth Kel'Aniston, and not one of you with so much as a single stripe to your name!" Elder Kel'Narin shouted. "You four are charged with assaulting and threatening a Warleader, and don't think you'll get off easy just because you're my nephew, Lanik."
"But he's--"
"Silence!" the two Elders shouted together as they advanced on the four suddenly quiet young men and grabbed them by their collars.
"The Runt--" Harner began.
A stinging slap and a shout of "I said silence!" from Elder Kel'Narin closed his mouth and sent a shiver of fear through his beefy frame. Elders seldom got physical, and the two hollowed stars on his shoulder would have made Harner obey anyway.
The boys sulked as the Elders marched the four of them into the Council Chamber and forced them to stand in the center of the room while the rest of the council was sent for. Soon Chief Elder Kel'Davin, Warmaster Kel'Horval, and Elder Kel'Kaffrey arrived and the Council was convened. Because of the seriousness of the charges against the youngsters, Chief Elder Kel'Davin ordered the door closed and barred. Then he turned to Elder Kel'Narin and nodded.
Elder Kel'Narin stood and looked at the young men. "Harner Kel'Chamlin, Jallav Kel'Corkal, Lanik Kel'Narin, Heral Kel'Vardal," he began, looking each young man in the eye as he spoke his name, "you are charged with insubordination and assault against Warleader Sixth Stavin Kel'Aniston."
"He's the troublemaker," Harner snapped.
Lanik agreed. "He's always acting like he's--"
"Be silent!" Elder Kel'Kaffrey snapped.
Elder Kel'Narin nodded deeply to Elder Kel'Kaffrey before continuing. "Elder Kel'Landis and I witnessed most of the altercation. What you did is not in question."
Harner stepped forward with his hands balled into fists at his side. "He's the troublemaker. He's always acting like he's special, like he's better than me. He's not! He's just a little runt who should have been killed when he was born!"
Mikal Kel'Kaffrey stood and looked at the boy. "It's strange." He looked at his fingernails. "You have never managed to get along with Stavin, and it's time for us to know what it is you have against him."
"He was always pushing me around," Harner groused. "He used to push all of us around because he's from a higher ranking family."
"Yeah, and he was bigger than any of us," Lanik agreed.
"So you claim that Stavin was a bully before, so you have a right to bully him now?" Warmaster Kel'Horval said as he considered the boys.
"He started it," Jallav said in a sulky tone.
Elder Kel'Kaffrey sighed. "It's been six years and Stavin has not only made his first expedition, which two of you have not, he's earned his first star. That is something you four must honor, no matter what has happened between you before. Stavin is a Warleader."
"But he's small! He's weak," Lanik said loudly.
Harner snapped, "Yeah, he's a runt! He shouldn't have been allowed to live."
Elder Kel'Kaffrey shook his head. "Stavin was a normal boy, growing at a normal pace until he took a fever. If I remember correctly, he was about ten years old. He wasn't a deformed baby that it would have been cruel to keep alive. But, given his accomplishments, that is irrelevant."
"But he's small!" Heral said, stepping up beside Harner. "He's a runt, and the runt of the litter has to be killed so it doesn't breed and weaken the line."
Now Jallav stepped up and nodded. "He's a coward, too. He's afraid to fight."
"Enough of this," Chief Elder Kel'Davin said as he rubbed his forehead. "Summon Warleader Kel'Aniston and we'll hear his side of this as well. It should have been stopped years ago, but we had hoped you boys would eventually grow up."
Warmaster Kel'Horval stood and walked to the door, unlatching it and speaking to someone outside, then turned back to the council. He said, "Several boys have gone to fetch him," as he leaned against the door. It was just a few moments later that there was a knock at the door and he opened it again.
"Stavin, face the Council," he commanded.
Stavin quickly moved to the center of the Council Chamber and snapped to attention.
"Warleader Sixth Stavin Kel'Aniston reporting to the Council of Elders as ordered, Sirs!"
Chief Elder Kel'Davin waited until Charvil had returned to his seat before speaking. "Warleader Kel'Aniston, earlier today you were attacked by these four young men. They have claimed that you brought on the incident by being a troublemaker and that you are a coward. Have you anything to say?"
Stavin's face darkened with anger when the Chief Elder called him a coward, and he flexed his hands around nothing for a moment before speaking. "Sir, I am not a coward. I believe I have proven that." His voice was soft, but the anger in it was clear for all of the Elders to hear.
"You're a coward, Runt!" Harner shouted, stepping out to face Stavin. "You never stand your ground and fight. You always run away."
Stavin laughed and took a step back from Harner, grinning widely. He asked, "You think I'm a coward because I run away from four bullies who are each half again my size?"
"Yeah, a coward," Jallav said as he stepped toward Stavin.
Stavin looked Jallav in the eye and grinned. "What am I supposed to do, fight impossible odds and let the four of you beat and strip me again?"
"You're always act
ing like you're better than us, but you're just a stinking coward," Lanik snapped.
Stavin shook his head. "I am better than you, Lanik. I always have been. You've never beaten me in the circle. None of you have," he said in a nearly normal voice as he looked at the other boys. "I'd have been a bigger fool than you not to run away from the four of you. That's why I thought you were so funny today. It's always been the four of you against me. None of you has ever tried to face me one-on-one."
Harner stepped forward with his fists raised and shouted, "You need a lesson, Runt!"
But the Warmaster's bellow stopped him in his tracks.
"Harner! Stand at attention!"
Chief Elder Kel'Davin stood and the other Elders stood with him. "Harner Kel'Chamlin, Lanik Kel'Narin, Heral Kel'Vardal, and Jallav Kel'Corkal," he began, saying each name slowly, with a slight pause between each, "you stand convicted by your own words of insubordination and assault against Warleader Kel'Aniston. If you were truly men, we would be sentencing you to five lashes each for these breaches of discipline. However, you are not men. You are nothing but bully-boys who have never faced a real warrior."
The Chief Elder turned his attention to Stavin. "Warleader, we regret this incident, and ask your understanding concerning these boys and their punishment."
Stavin bowed slightly before answering. "They are boys, not men. Let them be punished as boys."
Chief Elder Kel'Davin nodded and turned to his left. "Warmaster, these four are yours to punish as you see fit. But don't disable them. All four of them will be going to the low lands in the spring, hopefully to learn the difference between themselves and real warriors."
The Warmaster smiled thinly as he looked at the boys. "Since the four of you enjoy four-on-one combat so much, that shall be your punishment. I have to wonder, though, how much you'll enjoy being the one facing four?"
Chapter 3
STAVIN SPENT MOST OF THE WINTER working on projects for Master Scribe Kel'Zorgan, and the ancient Book of Inatat when he could. The book was as old as he had first thought, and perhaps even older. Once he and Shari had mastered the differences in the ancient glyphs, he copied the book while Shari wrote down the translation.
Traders and Traitors (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 2) Page 1
