First lessons

by Lina J. Potter

  “And all your wives and children? I offer three silver coins a month, plus bonuses if you earn them.”

  “Gold.”

  “Experienced warriors get one silver a month. I think you’re asking too much.”

  After bargaining, they agreed on seven silver coins a month for each man. As commander, Leif would get double. They could make more through piracy, but the stability would be worth it.

  It was a king’s ransom, but Lily decided to go for it. Once she started implementing her ideas, the Virmans would be a goldmine. With their help, she would earn twenty times what she paid them.

  People generate wealth. Forget about the money. I can always earn more of it.

  “That works for me.”

  Leif seemed pleased. So far, she had agreed to all his terms. “The sea takes care of Virmans,” he said.

  “What does that mean? You want to go out sailing?” Lily burst out laughing. She gave him a mischievous grin. “To catch fish?”

  “Exactly.”

  She saw that he had realized she was a woman who understood business. She had been told there were plenty of women like that in Virma. After all, they had to manage farms while their husbands were at sea for months at a time.

  “Then I get a share of the catch.” She grinned. “You’ll be in my territory.”

  “One-twentieth?” Leif offered with a smile. He seemed to look forward to more bargaining.

  She grinned back at him. “How much did you say? I want one-fifth. No less!”

  “My Lady is joking. One-eighteenth!”

  “You can’t sell any fish without my permission. One-sixth!”

  The haggling went on for about ten minutes and ended with both parties pleased. They agreed that the countess would take one-tenth of Leif’s ‘catch’.

  All the ale and cheese were gone. Lily sighed. “Well, let’s go get your men out of jail, shall we?”

  “They’re your men, now, Countess.”

  That’s right. Now, I have to hold up my end of the bargain. “Should we all go down to the magistrate’s office together?”

  “I think that would be best.”

  Lily frowned. “Can you change clothes?”

  “I can ask the innkeeper for something to wear.”

  “Do that. I’ll pay.” Leif understood what went unsaid. Lily turned to her peasants. “I want you back here, armed, in ten minutes. Get moving!”

  Leif went off to talk to the innkeeper. Lily looked down at the empty pitcher.

  So, this is how people become alcoholics. You start getting drunk because you want other people to solve your problems for you. But that never works. I wonder where the magistrate’s office is?

  ***

  Lily was worried about getting back in the saddle. Her muscles had just started to relax. The good news was that the magistrate’s office was only two streets away. The bad news was that she would have to ride. A Countess shouldn’t be seen walking. Leif led her horse by the reins, and her men followed along behind wearing white and green capes. Their marching left much to be desired, but it was the best they could do.

  Lily had been surprised to learn that white and green were the colors of the Earls of Earton. But I’m blonde here! I can’t wear white!

  Green was the color of mourning in Ativerna, but she decided to have some green and white dresses made as soon as she had time. For now, she thanked the gods of both worlds that the former Comptroller hadn’t managed to sell the guards’ capes. She had found them collecting dust in one of the storerooms. Someone had sprinkled them with lavender to keep the moths away. Lily had debated about bringing them with her on the trip, but now she was glad to have them. The local city guards dressed similarly, each in his own clothes with capes and weapons issued by the magistrate.

  She gloomily observed the medieval town as she rode down the middle of the street (to avoid the many things that could be tossed out of windows). This was the first opportunity she had had to study her whereabouts. The previous day, she had been distracted by the fight at the inn, and in the morning, she had been consumed by the market at the fair. So, she hadn’t had time to stroll around town, and now that she saw it in the daylight, she didn’t really want to.

  The buildings were made of stone, but they were gray and boring. Gothic architecture apparently isn’t a thing yet…or paved roads. Seeing her guards ankle-deep in mud, Lily decided she would ride her horse wherever she went. She had no desire to see if the mud came up to her knee or not.

  She also noticed that the town stank. Its residents thought nothing of emptying their chamber pots out the window. Trash was collected in heaps in the inner courtyards, but sewage was everywhere. Lily began to feel sick from the smell and the motion of bumping up and down on a horse. None of the others seemed surprised by the filth. She swore that she would never let Earton get this bad, and she decided to build decent roads everywhere as soon as she had time.

  That’s a plan for the future. Right now, I need to decide what to say at the magistrate’s office so I can spring these Virmans. I need them to protect my estate.

  Still, she felt as defenseless as her holdings. There was no one to stop the Virmans from stealing everything she had, burning the place to the ground and sailing off to make mischief elsewhere.

  But who will stop the pirates? And the slave traders? And the brigands?

  It was enough to make a Countess scream.

  “My Lady?”

  While Lily had been lost in thought, they arrived at the magistrate’s building.

  Leif seemed very respectful as he helped her off her horse. He’d better not be laughing behind his beard!

  ***

  Lons had been on the brink of death at least twenty times, but Aldonai apparently had other plans for him. Or is Maldonaya trifling with me?

  When he was taken from the coalman’s hut, he figured he was about to be hung. And when the men brought him to a hunting cabin in the woods and presented him to the King’s Jester, he assumed that the man wanted to kill him with his own hands.

  But he was wrong.

  The little man bored into him with his eyes. “Talk.”

  “About what?” Lons decided he wouldn’t go down so easy. He was a nobleman, after all, and he didn’t want to die a whining cur.

  “About how you seduced the girl and convinced her to fornicate with you. I want to know what, when, where, and who else knows about it.”

  Lons spat at his feet. “Curse you!”

  The Jester was unfazed. “If I walk out of here, the next person you see will be the hangman. The only reason I’m even talking to you is to avoid a scandal. I don’t like blood, and I don’t want to have to burn this cabin down. So, I’m making nice with you. Do you really think you can stand up to torture?”

  Lons was terrified of pain, and he knew the Jester could see it on his face.

  The man nodded—not at Lons, but at his own thoughts. “So talk. How old was she when you seduced her?”

  Which of them had been the seducer was hard to say, but Lons was the man, so he answered, “Fourteen.”

  “Do the two of you have children?”

  “No.”

  “Who else knows about your affair?”

  “It isn’t an affair. Anna is my wife in God’s eyes.”

  “I’ll talk to God later,” the man sneered. “I just don’t want mortal men to know about it. Where are the papers?”

  “The priest had them,” Lons snapped.

  “Was he the only one who knew?”

  Lons didn’t even think about whether or not he should lie. Of course, I should if I can.

  “Anna was afraid. Why would we go around telling people?”

  The man didn’t seem to believe him, his eyes cold and intelligent.

  “Why didn’t you hold on to proof?”

  “I wanted to, but I didn’t have time.”

  “Shall I call for the hangman? You’re making me sorry that I didn’t bring him in right away.”

  Lons bro
ke down after another ten minutes of questioning. The Jester listened carefully as he explained where to find the papers. Then he gave orders to his followers and smiled sweetly at Lons. “We already destroyed the church records. And you? Once you’re gone, the problem doesn’t exist. You know the sentence for seducing a lady of noble blood is death.”

  “I suppose you want to do it yourself?” Lons hissed, but his anger left the Jester untouched.

  “And dirty my hands on you?” He nodded to his followers. “Kill him and bury him so that no one ever finds him. Now.”

  The men grabbed Lons by the arms, and he prepared—yet again—to lose his life. The men dragged him from the room and put a bag over his head. As they led him away, they discussed what to do with him.

  “Do we dump him in the swamp?”

  “Oh, I bet he’d just love that.”

  “Or should we—you know?”

  Lons pricked up his ears. What are they planning to do to me? Will I be buried alive? Anything but that!

  “Do what?”

  “How about we sell him to Farney?”

  “To Farney?”

  “Why not? Guys like him with an education and good looks fetch a high price in Darcom.”

  Lons gasped in horror. Darcom! He knew what they did to men like him in Darcom. They used them as eunuchs for the harem.

  Run!

  Before he could make a move, something struck him over the head, and he saw stars.

  ***

  The two men exchanged glances. They leaned the lifeless body against a tree. He was heavier knocked out.

  It’s a good idea. Why kill a strong young man if we can sell him? No one ever returns from Darcom, that’s a fact.

  Slavery was not widespread in Wellster, but it flourished in Darcom and the Vari Khanganat. The trade was supplied by crafty sea captains who sailed the coast and the river deltas looking to buy or steal humans for the slave markets. It was a risky profession, but the profits were enormous.

  Farney was a slave trader who frequented Wellster, Ativerna, and Ivernea. He paid well and never went back on his word. The Jester’s men had sold prisoners to him before, and they liked doing business with him.

  “Is he around?”

  “I heard he’s getting ready to set sail. He can put this one in the hold, too. I bet we’d get three coins for him, what do you think?”

  It wasn’t every day a man could earn three gold coins. The other man thought for a moment and nodded. “Let’s do it. He’ll never escape from Farney to show his nose around here again.”

  Gold was a rarity in those parts. One of the Jester’s men was trying to marry off a daughter and needed a dowry for her. The other was younger and had been in the Jester’s service just a few months. He didn’t know how the Jester handled disobedience. So, one motivated by greed and the other by ignorance, they decided to disregard their orders.

  As for Lons, it wasn’t much of a lucky break. They weren’t going to kill him, but sitting in the hold of a slave ship wasn’t much better.

  ***

  Darius turned red, then white, then green. He would have crawled in a hole in the ground if there had been one nearby. He usually got away with whatever devilry he caused in town, generally only against peasants and simple laborers, but this time his father was irate.

  “Aldonai, how have I sinned that you gave me this idiot as a son? What am I guilty of in your eyes?” He turned to his son. “What are you looking at, you runt of the litter? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  Darius blinked. He had just been dragged out of bed. It wasn’t his fault that the Virmans didn’t show up at the wharf until it was almost dawn. He was sick of waiting for them, but the desire for revenge was stronger. If he had gone home, the guards wouldn’t have dared tangle with them. As it was, one of the Virmans got away…

  After sending the other five to jail, Darius returned home and went to bed. He slept until his father’s servants ripped the covers off him. They let him answer the call of nature and put some clothes on before stuffing him in a carriage and driving him to the town hall, where his father, Baron Torius Avermal, raked him over the coals.

  And all over what? A bunch of Virmans? This could have waited—let them stew in jail for a while so I could get some sleep. Still, it scared him to see his father red with fury, yelling so loud that the walls shook.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  “Maybe I don’t!” Darius shouted. He was sincerely confused. “They’re Virmans! Brigands and pirates! I did the right thing having them arrested. You should seize their ship and sell the pirates to work in the mines. Why not?”

  The baron put his head in his hands. “Aldonai!”

  “Father, what is the matter?” Darius truly believed he’d done the right thing.

  “They have all of Virma behind them. You don’t mess with Virmans!” Tired of yelling, the baron sat down in one of his armchairs. He looked up at his son. “We can’t stop the rumor from spreading. People will tell, and others will carry the tale. The island of Virma will find out how we’ve treated their countrymen.”

  “So what?”

  “Those men are still alive because they stand up for each other. They may be pirates, brigands, and scoundrels, but no Virman ever goes back on his word. If someone offends a Virman, the entire island will avenge his honor. It’s one thing if a Virman is convicted in a fair court. But you just had them arrested for no reason!”

  “You just said that they’re pirates!”

  “Did anyone complain about them?”

  “I can find someone to complain if you want.”

  “Is that what you’ll say when an entire Virman flotilla shows up in the harbor and wants to know who put their kin in jail?”

  “Their kin?”

  “Everyone on Virma is related to everyone else.”

  “But Father…”

  The baron hissed something that Darius couldn’t make out. Then he asked, “If I let them go, you haven’t been up to any other mischief, have you?”

  “Father!”

  “On the other hand, they are Virmans.”

  ***

  Suddenly, the door flew open and hit the wall hard enough to raise the ashes in the fireplace. The giant Virman from the day before stood in the doorway. Darius turned pale with anger, but before he could say anything, the Virman stepped forward, bowed politely and announced, “The Countess Lilian Elizabeth Mariella Earton!”

  The fat lady from the inn sailed into the room. She was wearing a clean, expensively embroidered dress, with earrings jingling in her ears and an emerald bracelet glinting on her wrist. No one in the room doubted that she was a Countess; her bearing spoke for itself.

  Darius shut his eyes and opened them again, seeming to hope it was a bad dream.

  The vision in pink flashed him a predatory smile. “Good day. Is this the Baron of Altver I see before me?”

  Baron Avermal stood up and bowed. “Baron Torius Avermal at your service, My Lady.”

  The vision spoke. “I’m pleased to meet you, Baron. I’m only sorry to be here for such unfortunate cause.” When she glanced at Darius, her green eyes were openly gloating.

  “Why unfortunate? My Lady, please have a seat. Let me call for some wine, and then we can discuss whatever has happened.”

  The baron was nervous. She was just a woman, but he knew that Jess Earton was a close favorite of the King. It mattered little that his wife was never at court. In any event, Jess Earton could cause him more trouble than he could load into a cart. The King loved him and listened to him, so that made his wife a force to be reckoned with.

  As elegantly as she could manage, Lily lowered herself into the chair that Leif pulled out for her. He accidentally hit Darius’ leg with the chair as he moved it, not hard, but the young man winced.

  Lilian gave a cold smile. “Honorable Torius, please explain to me why my men were detained last night?”

  “Your men, My Lady?” Torius stared at
her in surprise. There were only the Virmans in the basement.

  The Countess gave an even colder smile. “My Virman guards. You have detained five of my Virmans. I would simply like to know what they are charged with.”

  She had underestimated Baron Avermal. He quickly collected his wits. “Darius, go order wine and sweets for the lady.”

  Lily smiled at him. This was no time to mention her diet. The brat left, and the baron turned his full attention to Lily.

  “My Lady, you say the men in question serve you?”

  Lily’s voice was cold and hard. “They are my guards, Honorable Torius. It matters nothing that they are Virmans. I value their loyalty.”

  “I have no doubt of their loyalty, My Lady.”

  “Then what are they accused of?”

  The baron smiled. “It was a simple mistake.”

  The door creaked. A servant woman brought in a tray with a silver jug, silver cups, and a dish of sugared fruits. She bowed and set the tray on the table. The Baron poured Lily a cup of wine and offered her a plum.

  Lily pretended to take a sip of wine. She accepted the plum and held it in her fingers, which soon became sticky, further igniting her righteous anger.

  “Is that so? And whose mistake was it?” Her eyes were icy, but the Baron held firm.

  “My Lady, the guards made an error.”

  “I see.” Lily went heavy on the sarcasm. “A dozen of your guards decided it would be entertaining to take their longbows and crossbows and wait on the wharf to see if any Virmans happened by. Nobody ordered them to be there. Is that about the shape of it?”

  The Baron shrugged. “I can order an inquiry if you like.”

  “So can I.” She set her cup of wine down. “Honorable Torius, perhaps I should tell my husband how his men were treated here in Altver. Keep in mind, these are the men he entrusted with my safety. I think once he knows the facts, there will be a very thorough investigation, don’t you agree?”

  Torius winced as if something cold had touched a sore tooth. Lily sensed that she should press him.

  “And why were you so upset with your son this morning? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I was so angry with him yesterday?”

  Her instinct told her she was on the right track.