Belwynn, Elana and Dirk soon found that oats were the most plentiful and therefore cheapest crop in this region. However, prices were still high, and Belwynn began to notice that a number of the shoppers in Korkis looked hungry, prepared to buy damp bags of oats or old vegetables which in happier times wouldn’t have been sold in the first place. As they moved from stall to stall, Belwynn picked up on the problems the merchants were encountering: trade from Haskany and Persala had all but dried up since Ishari had taken control; the produce which did arrive was mostly smuggled out. Very little arrived over the mountain routes from the Krykkers, while nothing came in from the Grand Caladri at all. There were even problems within Kalinth. A dispute between King Jonas and the Knights of Kalinth, along with rumours of Drobax raids, discouraged people from travelling too far.
After surveying the choices that were available, they agreed on what to buy, though Elana and Dirk seemed happy for Belwynn to make most of the decisions. Oats could form the basis of a gruel, quick to prepare and full of energy, if rather dull to eat. They were able to supplement this with beans and vegetables, especially cabbage. A number of stalls sold pickled cabbage in clay jars, which stayed edible for weeks.
They found themselves fully supplied with food and waiting by the statue for Rabigar to return with the more complicated items. Armed guards walked about in twos and threes, dressed in brown leather with a spear-and-shield motif sewn on to their front jackets. Belwynn noticed how the people in the town shuffled out of the way at their approach and tried to avoid eye contact. The guards would sometimes stop off at a stall to help themselves to some of the food, while the stallholders looked away as if they hadn’t noticed. All in all, there was an unsettling atmosphere in the town. It seemed to Belwynn that with less to go around, the bullies of the community were making sure that they didn’t go hungry. Elana and Dirk seemed to sense it too. They were both very quiet and huddled down by the statue, as if the smaller they made themselves the less they would be noticed.
Suddenly there was a disturbance a few stalls away from where Belwynn was standing. A young child was struggling in the grasp of a stall-holder. Peering over, Belwynn could see that it was a girl with close-cropped hair, perhaps about the age of seven. She was thin and hungry-looking, but still seemed to think that she had a chance of escaping from her captor.
‘Caught her trying to nick a loaf,’ he was saying to the surrounding crowd.
A couple of guardsmen appeared at the scene. One of them held out a hand. The baker wordlessly passed the child over. The guard gripped her wrist hard. She continued to struggle, but the guard struck her across the face with the outside of a gloved hand. The girl stopped struggling and now had tears in her eyes, looking around with a fearful expression.
‘We know how to deal with thieves,’ said the guard in a voice designed to carry across the crowd.
Belwynn had seen and heard enough. She didn’t think through her actions. Some part of her mind propelled her body towards the confrontation in the street.
As she approached their space, the group turned to look at her. The baker frowned at her. The young girl looked up nervously. The two guards stared, stony-faced.
‘I will pay for her bread,’ suggested Belwynn reasonably. ‘I don’t think she’s a thief. Just a hungry child.’
Almost as the last syllable left her mouth, the rest of Belwynn’s brain caught up with her actions. This was not clever. The second guard hefted a long spear, pointing the metal end in her direction.
‘We don’t have strangers coming here telling us what to do. We have town laws to respect.’
Some in the crowd murmured their agreement. The guard, perhaps emboldened by this, gestured at Belwynn’s waist where her sword was belted.
‘Drop your sword to the ground. You’re under arrest.’
Belwynn expected no justice from these men.
‘No,’ she said. Instead she drew it out, stepping back slightly to give herself room for a swing.
At this gesture, there was a sudden rush of movement and noise. The stallholders and shoppers moved away from the confrontation, some gasping in shock at the turn of events. At the same time two groups moved to join them. Three guards who had also been patrolling the centre of town moved over to support the first two. Meanwhile, Dirk and Elana moved over to join Belwynn. Dirk looked ill, but at least he carried a short sword. Elana had no weapon at all.
‘Back off,’ said Dirk in a cool voice.
The guardsmen smiled, their dirty teeth bared in delight at the sudden sport they were being given. All five now had weapons out, two of them holding spears with a reach far greater than the swords held by Elana and Dirk. They began to move towards Belwynn and the others.
‘Kill them,’ shouted one of the guards, his eyes boring into Belwynn.
‘Try to leave the women alive!’ suggested another, to the laughs of his comrades.
They did not take the threat from Belwynn and Dirk seriously, and why should they? Belwynn might show them she could fight, for a woman. Dirk could probably draw on his last reserves of strength if he had to. But they were outnumbered by bigger and stronger men. Belwynn wished that Elana and Dirk hadn’t come over to help. They would have been more use staying out of the fight. At least, she thought to herself, the little girl had been forgotten. Belwynn could not see her anywhere. No doubt she had slipped away by now.
Belwynn held her sword out in front of her and edged backwards. Behind her, Dirk and Elana also retreated. The guardsmen fanned out so that they could attack from the sides. Someone came at her from behind to the right—another guardsman sneaking up on them?
‘Rabigar is here,’ said Elana.
Belwynn was glad she did, because she was just in the process of taking a swing at the Krykker.
‘Don’t worry,’ he whispered as he walked by.
Rabigar put himself in-between Belwynn and the guardsmen. His sword was in one hand.
‘We’re leaving,’ he informed them in a matter of fact voice. ‘Let us go and there will be no bloodshed.’
The guardsmen sniggered.
‘We want bloodshed,’ said one of them. ‘Yours.’
To the guards, Rabigar’s arrival didn’t change their superiority or control of the situation. Rabigar’s eye-patch perhaps seemed to suggest he was no real threat to these soldiers. But Belwynn knew better. They might have a chance to escape now.
Rabigar was moving at some speed towards the guardsman who had shouted out.
‘You want my blood?’ he shouted, almost roaring a challenge.
Rabigar reached the guard before the others could react. Once in range, the guard let out a roar of his own and swung a club in a descending arc towards the Krykker’s chest. Rabigar blocked the strike up high and then spun into the remaining space. In the same motion, he swung his blade up into the undefended neck of the guard, the sharpened point slicing through the jugular vein.
As Rabigar retreated, he was sprayed by a squirt of blood, the guard sinking to his knees before toppling over. Screams erupted all around them as the crowds which had been watching the confrontation turned and fled. The four remaining guardsmen suddenly looked worried. Rabigar turned around.
‘Dirk, you lead us towards the far end of the town. I know a way out. Belwynn, we’re walking backwards to put off anyone from following. Elana, you’re guiding our steps. Let’s go, as quick as we can.’
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Toric's Dagger: Book One of The Weapon Takers Saga Page 37
