by John Booth
An unspoken decision was reached between them to share Daniel and Jalia’s food. They were only a day or so away from Delbon so Daniel didn’t mind. Jalia who had hunted down five rabbits that morning resented it, especially the thought of the oversized bitch eating her catch.
As the stew bubbled and sent out a heady scent, helped along by the herbs and spices that Daniel added, darkness fell. The fire was much bigger than anything Daniel would have built. Tregar had found some large dead branches, which he cut up with an expertly wielded axe. The flames roared up into the night and they moved some way away from the fire to avoid the heat burning their faces.
After they ate, Damil brought out a bottle filled with strong liquor. He offered the bottle to Daniel who refused. Jalia took a large swig without coughing, which caused Damil to roar with laughter.
“You should join our troop, Jalia,” he said delightedly, “A woman who can drink like that would be more than welcome.”
“I’m afraid I have no act for your show.”
“They are plenty of things a woman who looks like you could do.” Damil said and then noting the look on Jalia’s face continued quickly, “Many would pay just to see you riding your beautiful horse. But enough of this idle chatter. Tregar, show us some tricks.”
Tregar went to his wagon and came back with a set of juggling sticks, which he threw high into the air and caught expertly. Some he set on fire as one end was coated in rags and soaked in oil. He put on a show impressing them with his dexterity.
Jalia announced that she was going to relieve herself and headed out into the trees. Once out of sight she went around the outside of the camp to reach the intriguing wagon from the other side. She climbed silently onto its roof. Sliding quietly across the roof she detached one of the chimneys and was surprised to find a metal grill preventing further access. A strong stench arose from the wagon. Jalia peered through the grill and was horrified at what she saw.
The wagon held six young girls. The oldest of them could be no more than Jalia’s age and the others much younger. From their general lack of clothing, it was clear what they were used for. They probably earned the show more money than it would ever get from a juggling act.
Jalia suspected the show was used to attract men to where they could be sold something more pleasurable. Jalia replaced the chimney carefully and slid down the side of the wagon.
Some distance away from the fire, Erik reached the place where Jalia had left her saddle bags and reached down to open them. As he bent he felt the prick of cold steel against his back.
“That is against the rules of common camp,” Daniel said in a low voice. “If you knew what Jalia did to men who steal from her you wouldn’t be here now, believe me.”
“I was only curious. I wasn’t planning to steal anything,” Eric said defensively. As he turned he reached for the knife tucked into his belt.
Daniel hit the man’s hand with the hit of his dagger, knocking Eric’s knife into the darkness. In one smooth motion he ended up holding his blade against Erik’s throat. Erik lifted his head back to avoid being cut.
“That is your second breach of camp etiquette. You will not survive a third.”
Daniel released the man, who hurried back towards the safety of the campfire.
“Thanks,” said a familiar voice in the darkness. “I’ve only just got back. He might have stolen something if you hadn’t stopped him.”
Daniel grinned and for the first time since the giant’s camp, spoke to Jalia.
“At least this way he isn’t dead. And we don’t have a war on our hands. Where have you been? I’ve been worried.”
“I think we might well have a war in the making. Listen and I’ll tell you what I’ve found.”
Rescue
Jalia told Daniel about discovering the girls locked in the wagon and waited for his reaction.
“Are they slave marked?” he asked after a moment’s thought.
To stop the slaves running away owners branded the letter S on their foreheads. People marked as slaves couldn’t leave through a city gate without proof of their emancipation or authority from their owners.
“No. It would probably make them less attractive to their users.”
“It’s none of our business, Jalia.” Daniel said, keeping his voice low. Sound carried far at night and he had no wish for the show people to hear him.
“I’m not leaving them, Daniel. They’re children. It would be wrong.” Jalia hissed back.
“Keep your voice down. I’m not suggesting that. Do you have a plan?”
“Well… we break them out of the wagon and…” Jalia wasn’t sure exactly what to do then, she’d only thought as far forward as the rescue and then, perhaps, killing the show people.
“Exactly,” Daniel said, “So here is what we’ll do. The two of us will go to bed.”
There was enough light from the flickering fire for Daniel to see Jalia’s mouth drop open as she misinterpreted Daniel’s words. He punched her gently on the shoulder.
“We pretend to go to sleep so these people can attend to their slaves. They haven’t been fed or given water since we got here. They must be waiting until we can’t see them. After they’ve done that, you will go and free them using your magic ring to open the lock.”
Jalia snorted derisively, “I don’t need magic to open a lock.”
“I’ll get our remaining food and the water skins together. We meet outside the camp. I’ll take the slaves and you’ll stay here and keep their owners occupied. I want them tired out.”
“Why should you take the girls, and where will you take them?” Jalia asked angrily.
“I know these roads by day and night. Remember the village we were at before we reached the lake?”
“You mean the village where those farm boys followed me everywhere and kept pawing at me?”
“Exactly, the one where they have a shortage of women. I’ll get the girls to the lake tonight and they can follow the trail to the village. They’ll need all our food and water because I doubt they have any skills at foraging. That village is far away from the trade road there isn’t a chance their previous owners will find them.”
“I’m not sure giving these girls to those farm boys is a good idea.” Jalia said, her voice echoing with disquiet.
“I’ll get them to tell the village elders you sent them. After what you did to their leader for patting your bottom, I’m sure they’ll be well treated, just in case we ever go back.”
Jalia’s brilliant white teeth reflected firelight at she smiled with relief. Daniel’s plan made sense. “But why do I have to wear out the show people?”
“I’ll be back before morning and we’ll set off to Delbon at first light. The longer it takes them to discover their slaves are missing the longer we have to get to Delbon, where I’m sure they’ll not trouble to follow us. I don’t want to kill anybody. Killing only causes more trouble in the end.”
Jalia didn’t see what was wrong with killing people, or with trouble for that matter, but if it was what Daniel wanted she was willing to play along.
They walked back to the fire together. Daniel yawned and so did Jalia. “We’re going to bed,” she said loudly, deliberately implying she and Daniel would be sleeping together. “Thanks for the entertainment.”
Jalia nodded towards Tregar. Loni smiled, clearly pleased Tregar wouldn’t be sampling Jalia’s delights that night.
As they walked to their bedrolls, Damil turned to Erik. “What did you find in her things?”
Erik scowled at Daniel’s receding back. “Nothing, the boy caught me and pulled a knife on me.”
Damil raised an eyebrow, “And he still lives?”
“He’s more capable than he looks,”
“So are they alerted to us?”
“Yes. If we try to steal from them we’ll have a fight on her hands. If the girl is as good as the boy, at least one of us will die.” Erik stared into the fire, “I think that this time, the price is too high.”
<
br /> “The girl would command high prices.”
“She would probably kill the first couple of clients.” Erik replied sourly.
“But what a way to go…” Damil pondered the odds, “Very well, we’ll leave them alone. Tell Tregar to get Loni to feed and water the girls.”
The camp quieted down. The two wagons with their doors open were positioned facing the fire. Tregar and Loni lay in one of the wagons and pulled a curtain across the door. Before long, the sounds of strenuous sexual activity could be heard coming from the wagon.
Damil smiled at the sounds while Erik’s scowl became deeper. The two of them went to bed, making their beds near the doors of their wagon. The third wagon was a few yards behind the others. Both men were light sleepers, as men had to be if they wanted to survive out on the road.
Jalia had become one with the darkness. She reached the door of the brothel wagon and put a pick to the lock. The lightest ‘snick’ sounded as the locked opened. The girls in the wagon lay asleep, though a single candle burned inside a jar to give them light. Jalia woke them one by one, holding their mouths until they were awake enough to realize she was freeing them. They must have spent time dreaming of rescue because they caught on quickly and let themselves be guided out into the trees.
Daniel waited at the agreed spot some way outside the camp. He had filled their water skins and brought along packs of dried food that he divided among the girls to carry. Daniel led them into the darkness of the forest. Jalia wondered how he navigated woodland so effortlessly. He was taking the girls in a wide circle to reduce the chances of their being tracked.
Jalia returned to the camp. All she needed to do was get the camp awake and keep them that way for an hour or two without anybody getting suspicious. Jalia grinned at the thought, ‘This was going to be fun.’
She walked to the fire and crouched in front of its dying embers, apparently warming herself. She pulled out the knife in her left boot and used it to pry free a largish ember with a fair bit of life still in it. Sticking her knife into the ember, she flicked it over her shoulder and into an open wagon door where it landed on a cloth.
The knife was back in her boot in an instant and someone watching her closely would probably not have seen what she did. Even if they watched her, the sight of her shapely rear would likely have distracted them from the ember as it flew through the air.
Jalia waited until the blaze in the wagon was well alight and then screamed ‘Fire!’ at the top of her voice until everyone was awake.
The show people beat at the flames with sticks and pulled burning things out of the wagon. Jalia appeared to help them while actually hindering. It was at that point she noticed the monkey.
Siki had discovered that the door to the slave wagon wasn’t locked and opened it while screeching for attention. So far, the others were too busy putting out the fire to notice, but that wouldn’t last. Jalia had to stop the monkey or she’d have to fight them. Worse than that, they still might be able to catch up with Daniel and the girls.
Jalia put her hand in her pocket and found what she’d been looking for. She grinned and pounced on the monkey, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck with one hand as the other took hold of her knife.
The fire had been put out, but everyone was fully awake. Damil shouted at Tregar for building the fire so high and putting their possessions at risk. Jalia suffered a disappointment, as Loni had been naked when Jalia cried fire and there could no longer be any doubt that her breasts were real. The good news was that Daniel was not present to see them and that both Loni’s breasts and tummy sagged.
Jalia put Daniel’s kettle on the fire and offered to make tea. By the time they got back to bed, the pale light of pre-dawn lit the sky. Nobody noticed that Daniel was missing.
Jalia dozed for what seemed a second or two before being shook awake. When she managed to get her eyes open she found the donkeys packed and her horse saddled. Daniel grinned at her and indicated they should leave. They set off as quietly as possible, given that they were persuading donkeys to start moving. Fortunately, none of the show people woke.
When they were well clear of the camp Daniel asked Jalia how she had managed. He listened intently and laughed when she told him about starting the fire. For reasons that confused Daniel, Jalia chose to give him a graphic description of Loni’s bodily faults, as if he cared in the slightest.
Then she mentioned the monkey and how he was about to give the game away. Jalia described grabbing the monkey by the scruff of the neck and pulling out her knife. Daniel stopped her, looking shocked.
“You killed that poor innocent monkey?” he asked, truly appalled at the thought of killing the animal.
“That monkey was about as intelligent as the average man.” Jalia pointed out.
“You had to kill him. I understand.” In a strange way Daniel found the death of the monkey harder to take than he would have if Jalia had killed the show people.
“I grabbed the monkey by the scruff of the neck while in my other hand I had the knife and a small parsnip I’d got in my pocket as a treat for my horse. I showed the monkey the parsnip and poked his genitals with it so he would spot the similarity in size and shape.
Then I threw the parsnip in the air and chopped it into three pieces as it fell to the ground. He looked at my knife, the pieces of parsnip on the floor and then at his genitals. I let him go and he went onto the roof of Damil’s wagon and never uttered a sound.”
Jalia thought further for a second or two. “It is entirely possible that monkey is cleverer than some of the men I’ve known.”
Outtown
“How will we find your brother?” Jalia asked when they stopped to eat at noon. They had traveled a greater distance than they normally did in a day and were fast approaching Delbon. There was no sign that the show people were following them.
Jalia was relieved that Daniel was talking to her again. She was surprised at how long he could hold a grudge. After all, he hadn’t actually died from the experience of having his legs broken, even though he should have.
“We can leave that problem for tomorrow. We won’t reach Delbon before the city gates close for the night.” Jalia noted Daniel’s moody expression and tried to cheer him up.
“Tell me about Delbon. I didn’t see more than a few coffee shops when I was there.”
“But still you managed to annoy the Guard so much they chased you out of the city.” Jalia saw a slight smile cross Daniel’s face and tried again.
“They were going to arrest me for killing a card cheat. What kind of place arrests you for doing that?”
“You didn’t have to kill all those Guards though, did you?”
“They attacked me, Daniel,” Jalia replied, a pout on her lips.
A silence settled over the camp as Daniel knew nothing he said could possibly explain why that might be wrong. It was just the way she was. And a part of him recognized he loved her for it.
“You were born in Delbon, tell me about it,” Jalia said to break the silence. She didn’t want to mount her horse with the two of them not speaking.
Daniel drew a triangle with its point facing towards them.
“This is the Delbar Heights, a massive wedge of hills, mountains and impenetrable land lying at the heart of Jalon. The river Jalon flows from the High Mountains until it reaches the edge of the wedge and then it flows around the heights first going south to Delbon and then north again until it reaches Ranwin.”
Jalia nodded. She had endured a comprehensive education and knew all of this, but just as long as it kept him talking, she was happy.
“Delbon is the bottom of the triangle. Long ago the River Jalon took a short cut slicing off the end of the wedge into a smaller triangle and Delbon is built on that with the river to the north. The King’s Palace is at the northern end at the highest part of the city.”
“I noticed everything was uphill from the gates. Do the city walls go all the way around?”
“They end at the river, wh
ich is barrier enough as the current is very strong. The river can’t be navigated any more. Not since the time of the Magician Kings, though their harbor still survives.”
“The Palace was built by the Magician Kings, wasn’t it?” Jalia asked, though she knew the answer.
“Legend says the High King held his court at Delbon, but that was over a thousand years ago. What’s certain is that those thrown into the King’s dungeons never return. Rumor has it they house demons that eat anyone thrown in them, but I’ve no wish to find out.”
“Where will we camp, if we can’t get into the city?” Jalia made a mental note not to get caught by the Guard. She’d no wish to sample the dungeons.
“You didn’t see Outtown when you arrived in Delbon?” Daniel sounded surprised.
“Outtown?”
“It’s a shanty town outside the city gates. The King tolerates its existence and it’s where all the undesirables end up. Makes policing the streets of Delbon so much easier if all the bad guys are outside.”
“It sounds like my kind of place.” Jalia smiled as possibilities occurred to her.
“I suspect you are right.” Daniel had no doubt what she meant.
They looked at each other and reached an unspoken agreement, Jalia mounted her horse while Daniel got the donkeys ready for travel.
It was well past dusk when Jalia led Daniel and his donkey train into Outtown and they started looking for somewhere to spend the night.
Outtown was bustling with activity. Its buildings were illuminated with massive torches while their owners employed men to stand in the street shouting descriptions of the delights to be found inside to the crowds on the street.
Jalia was fascinated. Last time she’d been to Delbon she had ignored Outtown in her desire to get inside the city walls.
No one paid much notice to them as they traveled down the deeply rutted road. One or two people stared at them and Jalia’s horse. Horses as good as her grey were rarely seen.
