The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “Not a bad idea,” Palladin agreed.

  “We’ll also have to be on the lookout for the slave traders,” Kevin said before he realized it.

  “The what?” Karl gasped. His frown was so deep that he appeared to have one long eyebrow stretched across his forehead. He looked first at Kevin and then at Kalen, who was suddenly busy clearing dishes, a sure sign that what Kevin said was true.

  “Oh, no,” groaned Joan.

  “Just out of curiosity, when were you planning to tell us about this? Or were you going to just let us discover it on our own?” Karl’s voice had a knife-edge to it.

  “I was afraid of this,” Steve said quietly.

  Darrell’s eyes became cold and hard, and Chris’s face turned red with anger.

  “I didn’t know how to bring it up, but no, I wasn’t going to let you leave without warning you. I really don’t think you’ll run into any slave traders though. They tend to raid near large bodies of water. Look, let Kevin tell you about it. I’m sure he can explain it better than I can.” Kalen continued stacking the dishes. “Besides, I need to start washing up.” He picked up a stack of dishes and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Coward,” mumbled Kevin. Then he turned to the rest of the group. “From what I gathered, humans only enslave other humans. They don’t bother the dwarves or the elves for some reason.” Kevin paused and looked at Palladin and Duane as if waiting for them to explain.

  “I can tell you why they don’t bother the dwarves,” Palladin said. “In general, dwarves are pretty easy going as long as you let them go about their business in their own way, but we go berserk when we’re threatened.”

  “Berserk?” Joan asked. “What does that mean?”

  Palladin fingered the edge of his ax. “I’d rip my battle-ax off, right through the straps and start swinging. Before I came out of the frenzy, I’d have destroyed everything around me and killed everyone in the area. Most humans are pretty careful around dwarves.”

  “I bet,” Darrell mumbled. Then he turned towards Duane and asked, “Do elves go berserk, too? Is that why slavers don’t go after them?”

  “No. We’re just too hard to catch,” Duane said as he stood up. “Here, Palladin, grab my arm.”

  As Palladin reached out to grab Duane’s arm, Duane vanished.

  “See what I mean? No one can capture an elf,” Duane said from the other side of the room. “We can translocate. Most of us can’t go much farther than half a mile, but that’s usually enough. We train for battle, especially when we’re young, and we’re armed when we travel, but that’s more due to custom than necessity.” Duane walked back towards his seat and sat down. “Although some elves who do enjoy a good fight. They usually hire themselves out, mostly to human armies, but there are a few who have joined gangs of bandits or signed on with slave traders.”

  “So who do the slavers go after? What criteria do they use? Skin color, hair color, eyes, what?” Darrell asked.

  “I don’t think any of that matters to the slave traders. They prefer families, but from what I could tell, that’s about it,” Kevin said. “Xantha said that slavery began as a way to meet the quota in local army units. All of the male peasants and townspeople who are eighteen to twenty-five years old are required to serve in the local unit, but it’s on a part-time basis. They meet one day a week for drill and training, and other than that, they are only called out in case of attack or natural disaster. Apparently the provincial army is a lot like our National Guard. Anyway, if there aren’t enough able-bodied men to fill out the unit, the town director petitions the district minister for enough slaves to fill the empty slots.”

  “You mentioned attack. Who attacks the towns? Invading armies from other provinces?” Karl asked.

  “No, at least I don’t think so,” Kevin said. “From what I gathered, the only people who attack are slavers.”

  Chris frowned. “It’s a vicious circle. They need slaves to build up the armies to protect the citizens from slavers.”

  “What’s to keep the slaves from just walking away?” Darrell asked.

  “I asked Xantha the same question,” Kevin said. “A man by himself probably would. That’s why the slavers go after families. If a man is sent to a village to serve in that village’s army unit, his family is also sent to the director, sort of like hostages. Children might be sent to work at one of the local farms, or to help out at the stables. Women might be used to help out on a farm, in one of the local shops, or even in someone’s home. When the man’s not training with the army unit, he might be sent out to one of the farms or village shops to work. You really can’t blame the locals for using slave labor; after all, they’re paying the tab.”

  “Do you mean the slaves are owned by the town?” Joan asked.

  “Not exactly. The village doesn’t usually buy them. They lease them from the minister. The ministers either buy slaves from the slave traders, from each other, or they can lease them from the governor. The governor buys slaves to work in the sorcerer’s castle and in the governor’s house, and he usually has some extras that he can lease out or sell to his ministers.”

  “Then individual people don’t actually own slaves? Only the government does?” Karl asked.

  “For the most part,” Kevin said. “Sometimes a wealthy family doesn’t want their son to have to serve in the army, so they buy a slave to take his place, or they might buy a couple of young girls to work at the house, but it doesn’t happen often.”

  “Who are the slavers?” Chris asked. “Are they just a bunch of renegades?”

  “Slave traders are businessmen. They don’t have much contact with the people they sell,” Kalen answered. “The actual raiding parties are usually made up of free-lance soldiers. Most professional soldiers work as officers in the armies, but some become bandits, and some sign on with the slave traders. The raiding parties consider any travelers that they happen to come across as fair game, but mainly they raid outlying villages and farms. Makes it easier to get away. Once they capture the people, they split them up by family units and ship them off to be sold in distant provinces.”

  “No wonder Palladin brought us so many weapons,” Darrell said.

  “I didn’t really bring the weapons because of the slavers,” Palladin said, trying to reassure them. “Slavers are something you need to be aware of, but you aren’t going to be near any large rivers or oceans, at least not on the way to Glendymere’s, and those are the danger zones. It’s not like there are raiding parties stalking all the roads. There just aren’t that many slavers out there.”

  “The way I see it, I think the slavers pose a bigger threat than the assassins,” Steve said. “As long as we manage to keep Kevin’s identity under wraps we can probably avoid the assassins, but the slavers are random. We could run into them anywhere.”

  “I wonder how many more nasty little surprises this world has in store for us,” Joan said quietly. “Well, you guys can sit here and talk about this as long as you want to. I’m going to the living room and practice with the harp.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next three days were spent in a flurry of activity. Everyone, even Kevin, spent a couple of hours each morning sparring with the new swords. Kevin spent his afternoons with Xantha while the others practiced combat skills. After dinner each evening, the group continued practicing for the minstrel shows.

  The night before they were to leave, they held a dress rehearsal and asked Kalen, Duane, and Palladin to act as their audience. Even though all three of them had heard the Tellurians practice from a distance every night, seeing the show from beginning to end was different. When the show was over, the audience cheered, and even Kalen admitted that he was impressed.

  After the rehearsal, they loaded the instruments in the wagon that Palladin had brought. When they were done, Kalen handed each of them a bag of coins, some copper, some silver, some a funny grayish color, and some gold. He went over the relative values of each and told them about how much they should expect to p
ay for food, lodging for themselves, stable fees for the horses, new shoes for the horses, and so on. He also reminded them that they should be able to exchange a performance for most of their needs, but that if they had to use the coins, not to accept the first or even the second price.

  Then Kalen and the Tellurians gathered around the dining room table to review the maps and go over the routes that they needed to take. When Kalen was satisfied that they knew where they were going, he folded the maps and handed them to Karl, who took them out to the wagon and packed them into one of Palladin’s little hidden compartments.

  Later that night, after the Tellurians were asleep, Kalen, Duane, and Palladin sat in the living room, drinking scog. “I think they’re about as ready to go as we can make them,” Kalen said with relief.

  “I don’t know what else we could have done to prepare them in the short amount of time we’ve had,” Duane said. “It scared me a bit the other night when Kevin broke the news about slavery. For a minute, I thought that they were going to bolt.”

  “I don’t understand why they reacted like they did. Don’t they have slavery on Earth?” Palladin asked.

  “Yes, but from what Pallor says, most Americans either don’t know that it exists, or don’t want to know. They prefer to think that it was abolished a hundred years ago. I was afraid we’d lost them there, too. I wasn’t planning to say much about it, but I guess Xantha felt like they needed to be aware of it before they left here,” Kalen answered with a shrug.

  “You know, there’s something else that we haven’t found a way to mention, and I wonder if maybe we should tell them tomorrow morning before they leave,” Duane said.

  “What?” Palladin asked.

  “We haven’t told them about Glendymere,” Duane answered.

  “I know,” Kalen said. “I don’t know how to bring it up. I’m sort of surprised that Xantha hasn’t told Kevin.”

  Palladin frowned. “I’m sure I’ve heard his name mentioned while I’ve been here. Don’t they know that Glendymere is going to train Kevin?”

  “Oh, they know that. And they know that Glendymere lives in a cave in the canyons of Nandelia. What they do not know is that Glendymere is a dragon,” Kalen replied.

  “Whoops,” Palladin said softly. “With the way a lot of humans react to dragons, that’s a rather significant detail. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to keep my mouth shut,” Kalen said. “I’m afraid that finding out that they’re going to travel over a thousand miles to meet a dragon and live with him for eight months might be more than they can handle right now.”

  “So what happens when they meet him?” Duane asked.

  “I really don’t know. I’ll send Glendymere a note after they leave and let him worry about it,” Kalen said with a sigh.

  Chapter 17

  The Journey Begins

  Thursday morning dawned bright and clear, and within an hour of daybreak, the Tellurians were loaded and ready to go. Two horses were hitched to the front of the wagon, two spare horses were tied behind it, and Kevin was seated on the driver’s seat. Everyone else was mounted.

  Kalen, Duane, Palladin, and Xantha had gathered in the yard to see them off.

  “Will you be joining us at any point?” Kevin asked Xantha mentally.

  “Probably, but I’m not sure when. Duane and I are going to go home for a while when we leave here. He hasn’t seen his wife in over a month.”

  Kevin nodded, turned to Kalen and said, “Thanks for your hospitality and all of your help, Kalen. And you too, Duane. And Palladin, thanks again for the weapons and this wagon.”

  “All of you have really been wonderful,” Joan added. “Duane, Palladin, have a safe trip home. And you too, Xantha.”

  “Thank you,” Duane replied as Palladin nodded. Xantha tossed his head and pawed the ground.

  “It was the very least we could do,” Kalen said graciously, quickly pushing aside a twinge of guilt as the truth of his statement hit him. “You need to get on the road if you’re going to get to Drusilla’s in time to load the other wagon tonight. Take care and Godspeed!”

  “See you in Camden,” Karl said with a mock salute as he turned his horse and headed west down the little dirt road that led away from the Gate House and into the woods. Joan and Chris fell in behind him, followed by Kevin and the wagon, with Steve and Darrell bringing up the rear.

  After about five miles, they came out of the woods into a large meadow, and the road disappeared. While the others waited, Karl rode on through the thick shrubs and grasses to see if he could spot where the road continued. Finally, on the other side of the meadow, he came across a well-traveled road running north and south, but there was no sign of the little road they had been following. He turned around in his saddle and motioned for the others to join him. As they crossed the meadow, Kevin brought up the rear, carefully and slowly maneuvering the wagon through the dense underbrush.

  While they were waiting for Kevin, Darrell stood up in his stirrups and looked back across the meadow. “I can’t see any sign of the road to Kalen’s house. Hope we don’t have to try to go back there.”

  “We shouldn’t,” Steve said. “You know, I bet that road is actually a driveway. The only people who used it while we were there were Palladin and Drusilla, and they’re both friends of Kalen’s. I doubt he has many other guests.”

  “You’re probably right,” Chris said, looking around. “If that road was used much we’d be able to see the tracks through the meadow. Must get pretty lonely out there.”

  “Or pretty private,” Karl said. “I didn’t get the impression that Kalen was one for a lot of entertaining. I imagine he enjoys the solitude.”

  About that time, Kevin reached the road and stopped. “Before I pull out onto the road, which way are we going? I don’t want to have to turn this wagon around.”

  “The maps and directions Kalen gave us more or less start at Drisden,” Chris said with a frown. “I thought the road we were on would take us straight into town. It’d be sort of funny if we got lost on the first day out, wouldn’t it?”

  Kevin grinned. “I can almost see Kalen now, shaking his head and mumbling, ‘They’ll get it together. They have to.’ “

  They all chuckled. Then Karl turned to Steve and raised his eyebrows.

  Steve shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, Drisden is supposed to be on our way, and we know we’re heading south, so I vote that we head south.”

  Karl looked at the others but no one else had any other suggestions, so he turned his horse toward the left and said, “South it is.”

  At the end of the meadow the road entered a hardwood forest that was just beginning to come back to life after the long cold winter. Around lunchtime, the forest gave way to farmland. Long, narrow driveways led from the road to the barns and silos that were tucked away behind the small farmhouses. Smoke drifted out of most of the chimneys and the smell of wood smoke and cooking mixed with the smell of farm animals, hay, and manure. Sounds of children laughing and dogs barking mingled with the sounds of men working. Chickens roamed around the front yards while horses, cows, goats, and sheep grazed in nearby pastures.

  It was mid-afternoon by the time the Tellurians rode into Drisden. The village houses had small front yards, with fruit trees and little flower gardens where tiny green stalks were beginning to poke through the dirt. The large backyards held stables, sheds, and vegetable gardens as well as large shade trees. The houses were closer together than the farmhouses were, but they weren’t as close as houses in most of the housing developments on Earth.

  After the houses, the road widened to form the village square. Wide wooden boardwalks separated the buildings from the hitching posts and water troughs that lined both sides of the road. A tavern with rooms for rent upstairs, a cobbler’s shop, a blacksmith’s shop, and a stable were on the left-hand side of the square. A dry good’s store, a farmer’s market, and a relatively large building with a sign in front that had a starburst on it we
re on the right. Then the road narrowed again and passed between a few more houses before the village gave way to more farms.

  As they rode through the town square, people stopped and stared, pointing at the wagon and talking excitedly. The Tellurians were all beginning to get a little nervous, especially Kevin.

  Joan rode up beside Karl and whispered, “I don’t like this. Do you know where we’re supposed to meet Drusilla?”

  “I have no idea,” Karl mumbled.

  About that time, the front door of the building with the starburst sign opened and Drusilla walked out onto the large front porch. She waved to them as she stepped off the porch and headed towards the road. When she reached Karl, she said, “I’m glad you made it all right. Take your horses around back. Harald’s waiting back there to help you.”

  As Karl nodded, Drusilla turned around to head back to the chapel, but before she had taken a step, she turned back to Karl and said, “By the way, park the wagon next to the back porch rather than in the barn.”

  Karl raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to ask why, but before he could get the words out, Drusilla grinned and said, “Just do it. I’ll explain later.”

  Karl and Joan led the others down the small drive that curved around the chapel to the backyard. A tall, skinny young man in his mid-teens was filling feed buckets with oats, but when he saw Karl, he set the oats aside, opened the corral gate, and waved them through. While the others tended to their horses, Kevin parked the wagon and he and Harald unhitched the team and the spare horses. As soon as all of the horses were in the corral, Harald closed the gate and everyone pitched in to get them watered and fed.

  Karl carried the tack into Drusilla’s barn, and while he was there, he checked the supplies in Theresa’s wagon. The first couple of cabinets on the left-hand side of the wagon held kitchen equipment, and the next two held flour, sugar, coffee, and other staples. Dried fruits and vegetables were stored in the cabinets under the driver’s seat.