"We saw a Federation ship coming from the north when we arrived," stated Tedi. "Where else would it be coming from?"
"Probably Ur," mused Edmond. "Ur has ships that go as far down the west coast as Calusa. Occasionally a Federation ship will dock at Ur and pick up goods that have been set aside in a warehouse from Vinafor or Karamin. It is not a frequent voyage as most goods move through the Ramaldi Pass, but some items that are not perishable are sent to Ur because there are not enough of them to fill a wagon. Over the months the quantities build up in the warehouse and eventually it is profitable to make a ship voyage. I have heard that such voyages are dangerous, though. The winds are strong in the north, and many a ship has been lost trying to go from coast to coast."
"I thought going around the south was dangerous," interjected Kalina. "Isn't that where the Isles of the Lost are?"
"I am not a sailor," answered Edmond, "but I think the dangers down south are the lack of winds. At least I have heard tales of ships languishing off the swamplands for months down there. And the flow of the Endless River drags them farther from land with each passing day. With all the tales of death at sea," Edmond chuckled, "I am quite happy to stay on land and fight the bandits. They seem a small enough terror when weighed against the tales you hear in the common rooms of the coastal cities."
A ruckus split the air over the loud din of the men's games, and Edmond leaped to his feet. Garth and Tedi also rose, ready for trouble. They gazed westward along the road and saw a rider weaving his way through the men gathered in the middle of the road. As the rider came closer, Edmond saw the red uniform of a Federation soldier. He waved as the soldier approached and the rider altered his course and dismounted in front of Edmond.
"Are you the caravan master?" asked the soldier.
"I am," nodded Edmond. "I am Edmond Mercado."
"Your camp is set in the middle of the Zinbar Trail," frowned the soldier. "That is quite dangerous."
"We have seen no travelers on the road for days," replied Edmond. "I assumed that there will be no traffic with the pass closed."
"Fair enough," shrugged the soldier, "but that is about to change. Ramaldi Pass is now open to traffic. I have been sent to inform the people in Zinbar."
"Then you have a long ride ahead of you," Edmond replied courteously. "You are welcome to spend the night with us if you wish. We can offer a hot meal and some friendly entertainment."
"I noticed that you have a rather carefree group of men," smiled the soldier. "I think I will accept your offer."
Natia rose and took hold of the reins of the soldier's horse. "I will take care of your animal," she smiled.
The soldier's eyes lingered a bit too long on Natia for Tedi's taste, but the man smiled and relinquished the reins.
"What has caused the pass to open?" asked Garth. "When we came through there two armies were poised to fight."
"There was to be no battle," replied the soldier. "The Federation troops were merely trying to reach Karamin. They are now on the road to Calusa, so the pass is open. Where would I get that hot meal?"
"There is a food wagon on the right," answered Edmond. "It is near the rear of the column. If there are any questions, tell them that Edmond has authorized it."
The soldier nodded his thanks and strode off back the way he had come. A few minutes later, Natia reappeared.
"He has several messages to deliver," she said with a mischievous grin. "It seems that Queen Romani has been murdered by her personal advisor, who was slain for his treachery. Daramoor has made himself king, and Vinafor has joined the Federation. There is also a message that complains about the inability of the troops to make progress on the Ramaldi Road. It seems that the road is entirely clogged with caravans leaving Waxhaw."
Garth chuckled. "What else have you discovered?"
"There is also a note that I was not able to read," Natia reported. "It is sealed and stamped, and I dared not risk opening it, but it is addressed to K'san, Despair."
"Despair?" questioned Kalina. "Wouldn't such a message arrive quicker if sent down the Blood Highway? I have to believe that another messenger is heading that way to tell of the opening of the pass."
"Possibly," answered Edmond, "but there is a mail boat from Zinbar to Giza, and ship traffic across the Sea of Tears is frequent enough. If the message is important, it would probably be sent both ways to ensure the quickest delivery."
"I wonder if the death of a K'san in Waxhaw is important enough to warrant such a message?" asked Tedi.
"I suspect that it is," answered Kalina, "but that message should have been sent some time ago, and by a fast messenger. I would not be surprised if the group of mages we saw when leaving Ramaldi Pass were being sent to investigate the death of K'san."
"Mages?" asked Edmond. "What mages?"
"There was a group of riders coming up the Blood Highway when we exited the pass," answered Garth. "You might not have seen them."
"I saw the group that you are referring to," frowned Edmond. "It was several dozen Federation soldiers and a dozen clerics."
"Those clerics are mages," Kalina replied. "Each priest usually has a couple of them with him. I believe that the death of a K'san is an alarming thing for the Federation. They are not easy creatures to kill."
"And the death of one will probably be taken as a sign of our location," added Tedi. "It is good that we left there quickly."
Natia tapped Tedi's arm and nodded towards the food wagon. He turned and saw the Federation soldier returning, and the conversation quickly died. The soldier chose to spend his evening with the caravan master, making any meaningful conversation impossible. Garth was not anxious for the Knights of Alcea to participate in any contests of skill with the enemy in the camp, so they settled in for an early night of sleep. When morning arrived, the soldier was long gone. Edmond gathered his men and warned them that news of the pass opening would soon be well known. The carefree days of travel that the caravan had enjoyed for more than a week were over.
The next five days of travel were uneventful, even though Edmond's men had detected small bandit groups inspecting the caravan from a distance. Either the groups of bandits were too small to attack, or the caravan appeared too well guarded for them to risk the losses. As they neared the city of Zinbar, Garth noticed the lumbering operations. Large swaths of the mahogany forest had been cleared around the capital city of Candanar.
Zinbar was the gateway city of the east and was situated at the joining of the Zinbar and Kyber rivers. While the Zinbar Trail connected the city to the Ramaldi Pass to the west, the city was also the terminus of the Kyber Road, which stretched north out of the city to the Sebastian Pass. Almost all of the goods bound to cities in the east from those cities west of the Barrier passed through Zinbar. As a result, Zinbar had become a center of trade connecting the two halves of Zara. Combined, the transiting trade, furniture, and mahogany harvesting made Zinbar one of the wealthiest cities in the Federation.
Zinbar had an area of fine mansions located near the Royal Palace, but there were also areas of great poverty in the city. The riverfront areas were crowded with large buildings for the warehousing of goods awaiting shipment, and long wharves lined the banks of both rivers. Long barges designed to hold mahogany logs waited patiently in special quays to be filled for the trip downstream, while smaller barges crowded the wharves abutting the warehouses.
Edmond led the caravan to one of the large warehouses, where the wagons lined up to roll through huge doors into the dark interior. The caravan warriors dismounted and escorted their horses to large stables near the warehouse. Half of the men returned immediately to facilitate the unloading while the other half tended to the horses. Edmond pulled the Knights of Alcea aside and told them to wait for him before he disappeared inside. He was only gone a few minutes and then mounted his horse and led the Alceans through the city streets on a tour of Zinbar ending at the Gateway Lodge across the street from the Royal Palace.
"Sidney felt bad about your miss
ing out on your lodging experience in Waxhaw," Edmond smiled. "He made me promise to bring you here when we arrived."
Garth opened his mouth to object, as the Alceans had no need for luxury, but Kalina stopped his protest with a verbal thank you. He glanced at Kalina in surprise, but she only smiled in return. The stable hands took their mounts, and Edmond led them inside. The inn was luxurious, but a bit garish for Garth's taste. While Edmond secured the rooms, Garth turned on Kalina.
"Why are we wasting their money?" asked Garth. "We have no need of such fine lodgings."
"The money is not important to Sidney," replied Kalina. "It would have hurt his feelings if we had declined the offer. This is where we separate from the Mercado caravan, and I thought we should part on the best of terms. Will it hurt you to spend one night in such a place?"
"Actually," interjected Natia, "an inn such as this is the last place anyone would look for Alceans sneaking around the countryside."
"She has a point," agreed Tedi. "Traveling as a rich merchant would be an excellent way to gain information. People in establishments like this are rarely careful of their words. They think they are surrounded by like people."
Garth turned slowly and gazed around the room. Finely dressed people were gathered in clumps around the room, and while no one was boisterous, neither was anyone trying to keep his voices down. Eventually Garth nodded in agreement.
"It will slow down our travel," he said softly, "but I will ask Edmond if we can buy a wagon from him. Kalina will need to work out the details of who we are so that it matches with what Sidney has already established. I am not sure if we can afford to continue staying in such lodgings for long, though."
"There is only one other city between Zinbar and Giza," replied Kalina. "When we reach the coast, we can reevaluate our needs."
"I can show you all how to be gypsies," Natia whispered excitedly.
"Garth and Kalina were gypsies when Arik and I first met them," Tedi replied. "I think they have their act down fairly good."
"I don't think gypsies stay in inns such as this," smirked Garth, "but maybe when our funds run low it might be an option."
Natia feigned a pout as Edmond returned with the room keys. He escorted them upstairs and showed them their rooms and then excused himself until the evening meal. The Knights of Alcea bathed and then strolled around the city until it was time to meet Edmond.
"Did you get to see a bit of the city?" asked Edmond after they had placed their order.
"A fair bit of it," Garth replied. "There is quite a contrast between the rich and the poor in Candanar."
"Not nearly as noticeable as in the rest of the Federation," replied Edmond, "excepting Olansk perhaps. It gets harder each year to find profitable runs east of the Barrier. That is why Zinbar is often the terminus of our journeys."
"What will you do next?" asked Kalina.
"I will try to find cargo for Ur," answered Edmond. "Our plans are to return to Sidney's estate in Tyronia and then plan out the next season."
"What if you can't find enough cargo?" asked Garth. "Will you haul the empty wagons to Ur?"
Edmond raised an eyebrow at the question, but he answered it without hesitation. "That depends on the number of empty wagons. If only one or two are empty, we will leave them in our warehouse here, but if it is a larger number, we will take them with us."
"Would you consider selling one to us?" asked Garth.
Edmond remained silent as he pondered the question.
"We are playing with the idea of passing ourselves off as merchants," explained Kalina. "It seems to me that there might be a fair amount of information to be gained in mixing with the clientele of the more extravagant inns."
"I have no doubt that such is the case," replied Edmond. "Sidney taught that to me when I was still a boy. Many of the other merchants scrimp when it comes to lodging, but Sidney always stayed at the best inns. He mixed and mingled with the elite of society and learned enough to have a profitable edge over the rest of the merchants. The problem that I see with your plan is that a single wagon would be like a beacon in the night for every bandit group in the Federation."
"How do you mean?" asked Garth.
"For a single wagon to make enough profit to stay in places such as this," explained Edmond, "you would have to specialize in extremely expensive merchandise. The bandits are not stupid. They know these facts, and you would become a prime target for them. Even with your considerable skill in defending yourselves, I do not think you would last long. No one can survive daily attacks forever."
"And even if we did not plan to make a profit," Garth nodded, "staying at fine inns would lead them to believe that we were."
"Exactly," nodded Edmond. "I am sure that the bandits spy on the merchants in the cities. That is how they choose which wagons to attack."
"Well," frowned Kalina, "it sounded like a decent plan when we discussed it earlier, but I think Edmund is correct. It is not a wise way to proceed."
"Actually," smiled Edmond, "I think the plan has great merit, but with a few changes."
Garth raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Edmond looked around before continuing.
"Sidney has had on occasion to use people for special courier runs," explained Edmond. "It is an ideal situation for your needs. You would travel without a wagon, as the goods you would be selling are small enough to be carried in your packs. You would stay in the finest inns at first, but then you will trick the bandits. When you are ready to leave a city, depart from the inn and leave the city in a direction you do not plan to travel. The bandits will send a messenger ahead. Instead of actually leaving the city, circle around and reenter the city and choose a lesser inn for the night. The next morning you can go safely on your way in the proper direction."
"That is clever," Natia said enthusiastically.
"What type of goods are we talking about?" asked Garth.
"Anything small enough to fit into your packs," answered Edmond. "Gems and jewelry would be perfect, but small pieces of art would also suffice."
"Not something we are likely to find in a marketplace," frowned Garth. "Finding buyers and sellers would be most difficult."
"Not when you are representing Sidney Mercado," grinned Edmond as he handed a piece of paper to Garth. "Sidney had this drawn up before we parted company. While it does not expressly mention gems, it introduces you as a trusted special agent for Sidney Mercado. Showing this to either a buyer or a seller will ensure confidence in you. I can also draw up a list of people in the Federation who might be likely to have goods for sale or want to buy some. If they do not have what you want, or want what you have, they will probably know someone who can complete a deal for you."
"I don't know how we can ever thank you," Garth said sincerely. "You and Sidney have been a blessing to us."
"Your success in bringing down the Federation will be a far greater reward than we could ever imagine," smiled Edmond. "With the loss of Karamin, and now Vinafor, it is getting hard to find a caravan route that is profitable or safe. While Sidney can afford to retire, my road has many leagues to go before I am ready to call it quits. Gather the information needed to ensure their defeat."
Chapter 31
The Artist
Garth pulled at the frilly sleeve with irritation, and Kalina giggled.
"Stop fussing with it," she admonished him. "You will ruin the shirt."
"It restricts my movements," scowled Garth. "I don't know how Oscar can wear such things."
"Oscar is not a warrior," Kalina said soothingly. "Let me adjust it for you."
Garth walked over to Kalina, and she adjusted his sleeve. She smiled inwardly as she glanced up and saw the discomfort on her husband's face.
"We should be able to change into something more comfortable in a couple of hours," she said with a chuckle. "Are you sure you can't do without the arm sheaths for that amount of time?"
Garth seethed, but Kalina's laughter finally got to him. "Alright," he sighed. "Take them off.
If anyone attacks us I will strangle him with my bare hands."
"Now that's the warrior I married," she giggled.
"I hope we find something to buy soon," Garth said as Kalina removed the knives from his arms. "It would be much quicker to just ride to Olansk and kill anyone who gets in our way."
"Who would have thought looking nice could make a man so irritable?" retorted Kalina. "There, doesn't that feel better now?"
Garth flexed his arms and nodded. "Other than feeling defenseless," he remarked, "it feels good enough."
"You have a knife in each boot, and one in your waistband," laughed Kalina. "How defenseless is that?"
"Two," corrected Garth. "I have two in my waistband."
"Pardon me," Kalina teased. "We will have your clothes altered in Olansk. For now just live with it or we will never get out of this city."
A loud knock sounded on the door to their room in the Gateway Lodge, and Garth moved to open the door. Tedi and Natia stood in the corridor and Garth stared at them in disbelief. Tedi was dressed like a prince, but the sight of Natia in a full-length gown stunned Garth. Kalina moved up alongside Garth and nodded in appreciation.
"You both look wonderful," she commented. "Go on downstairs and mingle. We had a bit of a problem with Garth's shirt, but we will be down soon."
"Listen to the conversations," instructed Garth. "See if you can learn anything about anyone selling jewels or jewelry."
Tedi nodded and Natia took his arm as Garth closed the door. Kalina turned and ran to get herself dressed while Garth walked onto the balcony and gazed down upon the traffic in the street. Smokey came up alongside him, panting happily and licking Garth's new boots.
"Stop that," Garth commanded. "Why is it that you never slobbered over my old boots, but you can't keep away from these ones?"
Smokey looked dejected and settled on the floor. Kalina came out wearing a beautiful lavender gown.
"He likes the smell of them," she said. "I don't think anyone enjoys the smell of your old boots."
Final Voyage of the Remora Page 38
