Traven was so dazed that he did not even care that his face was once again blazing. He stood there alone, looking like a fool for several moments before he realized that he did need to get some sleep before the morning. He then stumbled across the room and up the stairs as he slowly made his way towards his room. As soon as he was inside, he dropped his sword and fell onto his bed fully dressed and still in a daze. He drifted off almost immediately. The day had been far too exciting and tiring, but my how wonderful it had been.
8
Traven woke up early the next morning before the sun had even begun to rise. He thought about trying to get some more sleep, but he was too anxious for the day to get under way to actually be able to fall asleep again. He felt his way over to the washstand and lit the candle that was sitting on it. He splashed cold water from the basin onto his face and washed the sleep away from his eyes. Looking at himself in the mirror, he realized he had forgotten to take off his clothes the night before and carefully tried to smooth out all of the wrinkles. He then made his way to the wardrobe and retrieved his belongings. There was a slight chill in the air, so he also donned his traveling cloak. He laid his new saddlebag on the bed and belted his sword about his waist, slipping his hunting knife behind his belt on his right side. He then had nothing to do but sit down and wait. He waited for what seemed like an eternity until the sky outside slowly began to lighten.
As soon as the change in the sky outside became apparent, he leapt from his bed, threw the saddlebag over his shoulder, and headed out of his room and down the stairs. It was early but the innkeeper was already directing sleepy eyed serving women as they cleaned up from the celebration of the previous night and put everything back in order. Seeing the innkeeper, Traven realized with a start that he had not paid for his lodgings yet. He approached the innkeeper and asked how much he owed.
“Nothing. Meritza paid for your lodgings with the rest of her guards. They’re just about ready to leave. You’d better hurry up.”
Traven thanked the innkeeper and hurried towards the stables. Everything was going perfectly. Adventure was not so bad after all. He had had a great night, secured passage all the way to Calyn, and even had his room paid for. This trip was going to be wonderful! He was soon in the stables and realized that the innkeeper had been correct. There were several guards already mounted and a few more finishing up readying their horses. Traven quickly located Dapple, and as fast as he could, prepared him to ride. When he was done, he led Dapple around to the front and was appalled to find that all of the guards were gone. He looked around the square frantically but did not see any of the guards who minutes before had been waiting. He quickly pulled himself up onto Dapple and began to head out into the square looking up and down the street.
“Calm down boy.” Traven whipped around to find a slightly overweight, graying man riding his horse toward him. “I guess I’m to be your babysitter. I’m a guard with Meritza’s caravan. My name’s Rodham.”
He did not look to Traven like the type of a person that would be a merchant guard. The only weapon that he wore was a long, slightly curved dagger. However, his horse was outfitted adequately. Traven could see at least four crossbows loaded with barbed bolts hanging around the steed. He also noticed a large bag of the barbed bolts hanging right behind the saddle. The man had an air of confidence about him, and Traven decided he must know how to use his weapons well.
“Just follow me. We’re going to meet up with Meritza and the caravan just outside of the city.”
Traven turned Dapple and followed Rodham as he made his way across the square. The man was to be his babysitter was he. Traven didn’t need a babysitter. Meritza had said he would be treated the same as all of the other guards. If he was to be treated as a guard, he definitely deserved the amount of respect a merchant guard was due. He would show Rodham and the rest of them that he could hold his own. He would show them. Traven realized he was falling behind and hurried to catch back up. It wouldn’t help his image if he got behind before they even started out toward Calyn. They continued on in silence through the mostly vacant streets of the city. They finally rounded a corner, and the western gate of the city came into view. There were several sentries posted at the gate and more above it on the walls keeping watch on the countryside. They paid no attention to him and Rodham as they made their way out of the city under the massive arch of the gate. Their focus was on the small number of farmers already approaching the gate with their wares to sell in the city’s markets.
Rodham led Traven about a mile beyond the gate and up a small rise before he pulled up and turned around. He said that he was to keep an eye on the surrounding countryside until the caravan made it out of the city and to their position. He then turned to study the countryside. Traven tried asking a few questions but learned that Rodham was not the talkative kind. He decided that he might as well keep a watch out as well. He scanned the plains that were visible in the fresh morning light. There was nothing really to look at so he turned his gaze back to the walls of the city. The city did not look quite as dramatic as it had the night of his arrival, but it was still a breathtaking sight in the light of a new day. It still looked as big as it had when he first arrived. Traven glanced up and down the walls of the city but finally decided to just watch the gate as he waited for the caravan to emerge.
He didn’t have to wait very long. Soon one large wagon emerged followed by another and another. They kept emerging until he counted five in all. The last one was little more than a farmer’s wagon and was empty, but the first four were quite impressive. The wagons towered over the heads of the guards who were flanking the sides of the caravan on their steeds. The wagons were a deep rich brown topped off by bright white canvas laid across the top to protect the wares of the wagons from the elements. All of them had a bright red slash on their left sides. Each wagon had a team of four, large work horses pulling, except for the last wagon which only had two. Five guards rode along either side of the wagons, with five more armed with long bows perched next to the drivers of each of the five wagons. Two guards rode behind the caravan while two more rode at the head of it with Meritza in between them. As they got closer, Traven noticed that all of the guards, along with Meritza, had a bright red cloth the same color as the slashes of color on the wagons tied around their left biceps. Only the guard riding on the last wagon had the cloth tied around his right arm. Rodham had quietly made his way over next to Traven while he was studying the caravan. It was then that Traven realized that Rodham also wore the bright red armband on his left arm and asked him about it.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you about that,” Rodham replied. He deftly pulled a bright red cloth from his pocket and handed it to Traven. “These show that we’re part of Meritza’s elite guard. The bright red is her chosen color which shows courage and loyalty. You’ll tie it around your right arm like the new guard in the back. Only those who have fought in protecting the caravan are allowed to wear the band on their left arm. I don’t know if I agree with you wearing the armband at all, but I guess you are supposedly another guard, so Meritza ordered it.”
Rodham turned back to studying the surrounding countryside. Traven quickly tied the cloth around his right arm with a sense of pride notwithstanding Rodham’s disapproval. Rodham took one last look at the surrounding countryside and then headed down toward the caravan without a word. Traven booted Dapple and immediately followed. Rodham pulled up in front of Meritza. She was back to wearing the same clothes he had first seen her in, but as he had noticed before, they could not hide her beauty. Rodham promptly announced that the road ahead was clear.
“That’s good to hear. I expected it would be clear this close to the city and this early.” Meritza then ordered Rodham and the guard on her right to keep scouting ahead. They quickly trotted ahead of the caravan in compliance with Meritza’s orders. She then turned and looked at Traven with her mesmerizing eyes. “Traven, I’m glad you were able to make it this morning without any problems. You will be riding as m
y personal guard along with Drake.”
Pride and ecstasy filled Traven as he took his position on her right. It was dampened, however, by the angry look that Drake shot at him behind Meritza’s back. Traven recognized him as one of the guards whom Meritza had been talking to the night before. Glancing back at the other guards, he wasn’t surprised to find no welcoming smiles. He hoped they would give him a chance. He may not really be a guard, but he was going to try his best to act like one. The road ahead would be a lot easier if he had their friendship. Either way, as long as he was traveling with Meritza, he could handle any amount of animosity from the others.
Meritza turned back to Drake and began to discuss the items they might buy and sell along the road to Calyn to make the largest profit. Traven tried listening to what they were saying but lost the meanings of the words in the melody of Meritza’s voice. He finally quit trying to listen to what they were saying and just took joy in riding next to such a beautiful woman.
The caravan moved forward at a pace that surprised him. He had thought that the large wagons would keep the caravan moving slowly, but the magnificent horses pulling them had no problem in keeping up with Meritza’s steady pace. He rode along in silence and was content watching the countryside go by. After they had been riding for several hours, one of the flank guards began to distribute rolls and cheese among everyone. While Traven was eating, Drake leaned close to Meritza and whispered something. She thought about it for a moment and then turned to Traven. He brightened up expectantly but was sorely disappointed.
“I want you to take a turn riding at the rear of the wagon. Ride to the back and send Halbet up here.”
Traven turned dejectedly around and headed towards the back of the caravan. He turned around once to get a glimpse at Meritza but was greeted only by her back and a mocking grin on Drake’s face. When he informed Halbet that he was trading him places, Halbet excitedly galloped forward while the other guard cursed under his breath. Traven soon learned why the other guard was upset. The dust kicked up by the caravan slowly rose into the air until it reached just about face level right where the rear guards rode. He opened his mouth to try to talk with the guard riding grim-faced next to him but only managed to catch a throat full of dust that sent him hacking.
“It’s not that bad,” the guard said. “Just keep yourself erect in the saddle and most of the dust will never reach your face. What’s really bad is during the middle of the summer. There’s so much dust that you have to wear a handkerchief over your mouth to keep from choking even if you aren’t in the rear.”
Traven sat up as straight as possible in his saddle and was glad to find that he could actually breath. His clothes, however, soon had collected a large amount of dust. He talked with the man a little and learned that his name was Chance. The man had a story to go along with his name that left Traven blushing. Besides learning the origin of the man’s name, he learned that the empty wagon directly in front of them was for any goods that they might find along the way that could be sold for a large profit in Calyn. In addition to talking about the caravan, Chance had a great many stories about fighting that he readily shared with Traven, pointing out the scars to prove each was true. Traven was not sure how much in the stories was actually truth but he found the stories entertaining.
Time flew by with the stories, and then a different guard distributed some biscuits along with the same cheese that they had eaten for breakfast. Traven began to recall that the food you had to eat while traveling was definitely not the best. It was even worse when it was covered by dust from the road. After they finished eating, Halbet rode back to them, and to Traven’s great disappointment, traded places with Chance. Chance chuckled and grinned at Traven as he headed to the front of the caravan. Halbet was not the talkative type, and Traven once again rode on in silence. Time moved very slowly through the afternoon, and his backside began to get sore once again. He remembered why traveling was not as fun as he used to imagine. Those two nights in the inn had spoiled him and made him forget about the downs of journeying.
After many slow hours of moving along in silence, the sun finally began to sink below the horizon. They hadn’t seen anyone on the road since they had gotten about five miles out of Kavar, but Traven noticed that as the light lessened, the guards became more alert. They were no longer just riding nonchalantly with a caravan; they were elite guards protecting large amounts of expensive goods. The guards kept a sharp eye in all directions, looking for any sign of trouble. He didn’t understand why they were so worried. It seemed to him that nothing could get near them without them being able to see it long before it reached them. However, Halbet explained there were folds in the ground that couldn’t be seen from the road that were perfect hiding spots for bandits. Traven didn’t think that enough people could hide without being spotted to be a threat, but was reminded that one arrow could kill a man as easily as five arrows. He decided to keep a sharp watch also.
With the setting of the sun, Meritza ordered a halt. Rodham said that just up the road there was a slight rise next to the river that they had used before as a camping spot. Meritza agreed it would do nicely, and the caravan pushed on for another couple of minutes before turning off to the left and heading up the small rise. At the top, the drivers of the wagons set their wagons to form a semi-circle about the perimeter of the camp facing the road. There was a sheer drop of about ten feet to the river below at their backs. Traven had to help water the horses and then hobble them along with several of the other guards. He was then sent to find fodder for the fire along with the guard who he had seen on the last wagon. The guard grumbled to himself as they set about finding fodder. Traven trudged along behind him. He had not thought that guards had to do these kinds of things. He had always thought their only job was to fight and protect. Boy was he ever wrong.
When they returned back to the camp, a large pot had been pulled out of one of the wagons, and one of the drivers was beginning to make a stew. Traven was not sure what kinds of vegetables the man was slicing into the water, but he did recognize the slab of beef that the man was about to cut up and put in. Traven and the guard he had gone with quickly got a large fire built and going in the center of the camp. Shortly thereafter the stew was on the fire and producing a delicious aroma. Traven retrieved his bowl and spoon and waited impatiently for the stew to be ready. When the driver who had cooked it announced that it was ready, Traven was one of the first to dish up behind Meritza. He then went to a large rock that was at the very back of the camp where he had set his saddlebags. He moved them down behind the rock and sat down on it to eat in silence.
He had thought that this trip was going to be nothing but excitement and fun. It had started off the night before so promising, but Meritza had not even talked to him since the morning. Most of the guards wouldn’t talk to him, and he was sore and covered with dust despite his efforts to brush all of it off. Why did it really matter anyway? As soon as he got to the merchant school in Calyn he would never see Meritza again. It had been fun dancing with her the night before, but now he realized that it had been the beginning and end of their relationship. He would just have to make the journey like any other merchant guard. Heck, it was better than just saying he had traveled all the way from Oak Tree. He could boast that he had been a merchant guard. That should definitely impress his classmates when he got to school. All the same, it was too bad that Meritza did not feel about him the way he felt about her. All that he asked was for another smile and kiss on the cheek from her, and he could die happy. Too bad that was never going to happen. Oh well. All good things had to come to an end sometime. Besides if he ever . . .
“Traven,” Meritza chimed from over by the fire. “Don’t eat over there all alone. Come over and sit with me and we’ll talk.” At first Traven was not sure if he was hearing correctly but decided that he must be and rushed over to the fire to sit down beside her. “That’s better. What were you doing over there?”
“Uh, I was just thinking,” Traven repl
ied.
“I like a man who thinks,” Meritza teased ruffling his hair. Traven hoped the firelight did not show the deepening color on his face. “What were you thinking about?”
“Not much.” He couldn’t tell her that he had been thinking of her. “I was just thinking that being a merchant guard wasn’t as fun as I thought it might be,” he said quickly.
“It gets better. Don’t worry about it. I just put you in the back today so that everything else will seem easy. You’ll be riding up with me all day tomorrow so that we can talk. I figured I’d tell you a little about being a merchant since you are going to a merchant school. I usually don’t share any of my secrets with potential competitors, but I like you.”
“That would be great. Thanks.” Traven had heard it. She said she liked him. He did not care what anyone else said. He had personally heard her say she liked him! This trip was not going to be bad at all.
“Look at Traven fellas. If his smile was any bigger, his face might split in two.” All of the other guards sitting around the fire began laughing, and Traven once again felt his face match the burning of the fire. “Now he looks like a cherry. Maybe he’s sick or something. I hope he doesn’t explode.”
All of the guards began to laugh even harder, with many hooting and hollering. Meritza had also joined in the laughter. Traven wanted to go back to his rock at the back of the camp until Meritza put her arm around him comfortingly.
“Don’t take everything so seriously Traven,” she whispered into his ear. “They’re just joking around.”
Meritza threw a jab back at the man who had been taunting Traven and there was once again a large outburst of laughing by the guards. Then one of the guards got up and began to sing a lively tune. To Traven’s great disappointment, Meritza took her arm from around him and began to clap and sing along with the guard. The other guards joined in and soon everyone was singing or clapping. Even Traven joined in, quickly forgetting about his earlier embarrassment. Meritza was right. He just needed to lighten up and have a good time. After about an hour of laughing and singing around the fire, Meritza announced that she was going to get some sleep even if nobody else did.
Wielder's Awakening Page 9
