The Kae’lem village leaders briefly conferred and then became silent. In moments, Delaron declared, with a grin forming on his face, “Your proposal is acceptable to us.”
King Pallan leaned over to his scribes and whispered several things to them. Olish, pausing for an instant, nodded, as did Yarek. “We offer you a haedatek stone … and burnished malkatel.” He signalled for Yarek to hand over the items.
Yarek took from a leather pouch he had concealed in his long, off-white robe a large gem that had been cut and polished by an expert lapidary. The gem was of a deep aquamarine and, deep in its interior, gave the appearance of a sable sea of ultra-black.
The eyes of the Kae’lemers lit up. Delaron leaned forward to take it from Yarek. “Remarkable beauty …” Inspecting it with his searching eyes, he commented after a time, “Of unusual purity and symmetry. This will do just fine …” He gave the gem to Killund to look at.
King Pallan prompted Yarek to reveal the other oddity from Paladia.
Yarek removed from the pouch a ring of metal, about the size that could be slipped over a grown adult’s wrist. The metallic bracelet showed no signs of having been riveted together; it was perfectly seamless and presented a myriad set of tones of thoughtful graphite and copper. The undersurface of the bracelet was of a deep black-violet, which ran altogether dark as the large ring was rotated or shifted. “A malkatel bracelet … manufactured by some of our top artisans. Its value cannot be understated. It is part of the king’s treasure.”
Hadara wore a disapproving look.
King Pallan directed firmly, “Give it.”
Yarek, of a late age, glanced anxiously at some of his Paladians before handing the wristlet over to Delaron, who took it from him with great excitement.
“Ah! Such beauty in work; magnificent artisanship. Precision of manufacture …” He handed the metal band to Jasland, who was seated at his side. “Have a look!”
Jasland inspected the bangle; she remarked shortly afterward, “It is of impressive finish.”
Delaron turned to Killund and asked loudly, “What do you think? It is of exceptional beauty, no?”
Killund took from his eye the eyepiece he had been using to scrutinize the large gem. “The stone is, as they say, a haedatek.” He dipped his head very faintly to Delaron.
“Ah! Quite the find, quite the find! I should think, my good king, that the two gifts will pay most adequately for your people to stay the night and for an offering of some of our victuals and spare garments.” Delaron pivoted a bit in his chair and asked Jasland and Hadeth, “More than adequate, for a night’s stay, one would think? No?”
The two women turned their eyes in their sockets to each other for a second or two, then back at their foreign guests, the Paladians. With the slightest tinge of reluctance in her voice, Hadeth replied, “More than adequate.”
Delaron leaned more in his stool to Jasland and pressed, “And you?”
She bobbed her head moderately. “Adequate.”
Delaron boomed, “Good—then it is decided.” In a lower tone of voice, he added, “All is worked out.”
Jaegar interrupted, “Sir, the matter of armaments.”
Delaron shot back in his chair. “Oh yes! Almost forgot. If you have other rarities such as these, I should think Territh would be more than obliged to assist you. Now, my ladies, our business is done. Have the others provide King Pallan’s people with as much food and clothing they can bear—for a day.” He rose from his stool, as did Jasland and Hadeth; Killund and Territh remained seated. “King”—bowing slightly to King Pallan, Delaron left the table with Jasland and Hadeth close at his sides.
King Pallan watched them go and said to Territh, “Can you help us obtain the weaponry we need?”
Killund made a sudden expression of faint objection at Territh, who ignored him. “I may. We have some of the finest metalworkers in the greater basin, My Lord; it will cost.”
“I will pay,” King Pallan responded straightaway; his countenance was steely.
Territh answered a moment later, “Very good.” He rose from his stool and gestured with his hand. “This way …”
Killund did not rise from his seat; he continued to flip the haedatek gem between his fingers, eyeing, occasionally, the Paladians as they exited the structure.
King Pallan called to several guards nearby out in the street. “Have the people ready; we have begun the bartering process with the villagers here.”
A solider ran up to him. Giving a fast bow, he said, “Yes, My Lord.”
“We have negotiated for a full day’s provision of food and extra clothing. Relay this to squad leaders. Be on guard always. At the first sign of trouble, the paramount concern is the unarmed. Do not delay making a decision to protect them. Forget about us. Do you understand my orders?”
The soldier banged his breastplate with his closed hand. “Yes, My Lord; your intentions are clear.”
“Good; now carry them out.” King Pallan nodded to him quickly.
The soldier did not delay his reply. “Yes, My Lord—straightaway.” He turned immediately and shot for the rest of his soldiers, who were standing idly near the centre of the main concourse of the village.
Territh hurried his step a tad. “This way …”
King Pallan instructed Hadara and Olish, “Go back to the group; attend to any of their needs. We shall rely upon Yarek’s purse for our present needs.”
Hadara and Olish made weak bows. “Yes, sire; we will return to the group.” They left.
“Jaegar and Jardarah, you shall remain with me and Yarek—in case of trouble.”
“Yes, My Lord,” they both answered.
With Yarek at King Pallan’s left, and Jaegar and Jardarah flanking the pair, Territh led the quartet down a side street. Villagers were beginning to take notice of the strange travellers. As they came near the end of the thinning road, a man appeared, as if from nowhere; he was kneeling on his left knee, his head bowed and both hands folded on the hilt of a sword stuck firmly in the ground.
Yarek complained to King Pallan, “What’s this?”
King Pallan took a few steps closer to the stationary man and, with brow lowering in subtle degrees, gradually raised his clenched hand.
Jaegar and Jardarah came to a halt and looked at King Pallan with confusion. Territh stopped and slowly lifted his chin at the man, who began to raise his head.
“My Lord … it is an honour to be in your presence.”
King Pallan smirked in faint degrees.
The man’s shoulder-length dark-brown-to-black hair, somewhat tangled, remained stiff in the breeze; it appeared wet. His youngish face was well chiselled, and his dark brown eyes were defiant and yet submissive, suggestive of the hardening effect of many years’ training, perhaps intermixed with combat. He pleaded with Jaegar and Jardarah, “I seek an alliance with your king. I am from here, Kae’lem, and a warrior.”
Jaegar growled. He took out his sword but put it back in its sheath in response to a look from King Pallan.
King Pallan said, “You are not of my people, and yet you display such devotion?”
The man, still kneeling on his left knee with head bowed in deference, remarked, “I am Garan.”
Territh commented dryly, “He is Garan the Brave, My Lord. A soldier of fortune—a mercenary. Do not listen to him and his tales. Let us be off. I have items to show you that may be of interest to you and your troops.”
King Pallan appeared to take to heart what Territh said, but Garan, still clasping the hilt of his sword, seemed altogether unfazed by the disparagement of his fellow villager. He was about to leave but froze as Garan began speaking again.
“My Lord, I know who you are.”
King Pallan’s interest in the unusual Kae’lem villager showed signs of intensification.
“You are a legendary king of the north, from a line of legendary kings. King Pallan the Second showed kindness to my father in the Battle of Reyvend; his father wise beyond years, of legend,
defeating the Hojiri Hordes. Saving many beyond Paladia …”
King Pallan nodded ever so slightly in response. “But those days are long past; and now my kingdom is lost to me. Having to flee it like a common thief …”
“A debt to be repaid.” Garan looked up at King Pallan.
King Pallan insisted, “There is no more debt; it has been repaid. I free you of any burdens.”
Garan winced and then glanced around him, still holding tightly the hilt of his shining sword, undoubtedly of Kae’lem manufacture. “I have nothing left here, nothing more to live for here. I despise this place. Let me join you in your quest.”
Jaegar turned slightly toward King Pallan, wearing an expression of suspicion.
King Pallan’s eyes lowered; he took a few steps forward. “How do you know of my quest—who told you of this?”
Garan seemed to channel inner strength for an instant. “I am a well-trained soldier, a mercenary, as Territh the blacksmith said. You will need all the help you can get on your journey to recover the stone.”
King Pallan’s eyes enlarged. “You know of the stone?”
Garan, lowering his head somewhat, replied, “Aye; and if I know, you can be sure others know. The Kaiper Stone of Ayren …”
Jardarah complained noisily, “Sire—why must we listen to him? We know little about him—if he can be trusted, at all.”
King Pallan seemed to give Jardarah’s protest some weight. He asked Territh, “Is he what he says he is, a mercenary from this village?”
Staring at King Pallan for a second longer, Territh turned his attention to the Kae’lem warrior, who was statue-like, head bowed deeply. He remarked in a short time, “He is what he says he is.”
King Pallan challenged him. “But I detect hesitation in your voice; what is the matter?”
“He is an outsider, a troublemaker.” Territh returned his compassionless gaze to King Pallan. “Why give him an ear?”
The Paladian king made a long and thoughtful sigh. “Because he could help me … Is there anyone in Kae’lem who can attest to his skills?”
Territh considered the question for a few seconds. “There are—he is a lot of things but is skilled in the warrior arts. Come, let us go—I have many things to show you.”
King Pallan ignored for the time Territh’s request to leave. He urged Jaegar and Jardarah, “Can we trust him?”
Jaegar looked Garan over briefly. He made an expressionless look over at Jardarah for a moment and said to King Pallan, “We do not know. The decision shall be yours, sire.”
Dipping his head to Jaegar, King Pallan turned to Garan and commanded, “Rise, my friend. Forthwith, you will not bend knee to me—I am only a man.”
Garan’s expression changed to slight astonishment. Using his sword as a support to get up, he yanked the blade of the sword out of the ground, with a quick pull. Jaegar and Jardarah eyed the Kae’lem mercenary with restrained mistrust.
King Pallan cautioned, “You may join my ranks for the time being—but if you should betray me or harm any of my companions, your retribution will be swift. That I promise … now get behind me and you may assist us in our quest to restore my kingdom.”
Garan bowed his head solemnly to King Pallan. “I would never betray you or your people; I shall be the first to ram the sword into my bowels.”
King Pallan said in reply, after gazing at him with marked skepticism, “We shall see …” He then signalled for Territh to lead them on.
Garan placed his sword in its sheath and made two hard fists, the leather half-gloves he was wearing creaking in the process. With a faint grin, he fell in behind King Pallan and Yarek.
Territh led them to a forge several streets away from the meeting hall. Two men were hammering at glowing rods of iron, soon to be swords of Kae’lem design and quality.
Territh instructed, “Watch for sparks.” He had to raise his voice over the banging and the bellows man stoking the furnace, which was emitting high heat. “This way …”
Yarek winced sporadically at the violence of the place, the radiating heat from the furnace heating iron to glowing orange, nay, even brighter. Garan, in contrast, seemed unmoved by the place, as if it were utterly commonplace to him. Yarek followed King Pallan closely as Territh ushered them to a small room off to the side of the forge.
Territh walked over to a table near the window in the room. Lying on the table, in a leather scabbard, was a sword of new manufacture. Carefully removing the sword from its scabbard, he scanned the blade’s mirrored metal with his discerning, mustard-coloured eyes. “Of recent forging …” He handed the sword to an eager King Pallan, who began examining it.
“Impressive.” King Pallan gave the sword to Jaegar. “How many more have you ready for trade or purchase?”
Territh answered straightaway, “Twenty.”
Jaegar commented to King Pallan, “Of high quality, to be sure, sire; the steel has been tempered expertly. It should withstand the fury of any adversary.”
King Pallan bobbed his head. “Good.” He then asked Territh, “How many more of the kind can you have ready by tomorrow, say, early to mid-morning?”
Territh put his head down a little and seemed to think for a moment or two. “Perhaps seven; it depends on how quickly the workers can treat the metal of the swords. Three are already in the postprocessing phase as we speak.”
King Pallan replied, “That will have to do. Now for the matter of cost—how much do the forgings cost?”
Territh said very coolly, “Six hundred haightears.”
Jardarah scoffed most pronouncedly, “Six hundred haightears? That’s a small fortune even by kingly standards!”
Jaegar cut in, “I must agree, sire; that is quite expensive.”
King Pallan made a very low groan. He looked squarely at Territh, who flinched not in the least at his stare. “That is quite the sum, Kae’lemer. I shall pay your demand; but if the metal in these swords should fail us in battle, I will return here looking for you. And your day will end before night.”
Garan chuckled to himself softly.
Territh’s expression remained composed; the slightest appearance of a smirk formed on his face. “The metal will not fail; we make only the best. And it costs—anyone—including deposed kings.”
Jardarah growled.
King Pallan stayed Jardarah with a light touch of his hand to the soldier’s curved armoured chest. “I deliver on my promises; now, what else have you to sell or barter for, in the way of armaments?”
Jaegar prompted, “Sire—will need arrows for your quiver—and bolts for the crossbows.”
Jardarah added enthusiastically, “And bucklers of seven-mule-hairs’ thickness, at least; and lances with metal shafts. The wooden ones give way too easily in battle …”
King Pallan inquired, “Have you these things my men ask?”
Territh made a slight nod, grinning faintly. “Of course. We have these and many more such weapons for purchase. But it will cost extra …”
King Pallan pressed, his growing irritation just observable in his voice’s tone, “How much?”
The shrewd Kae’lem blacksmith, entrepreneur of all things metal and wood, thought for a few seconds. “Nine hundred at least—the cost will depend on how many bucklers you will require. The lances I can add in for twenty etars, for a reasonable quantity, providing full payment is made by tomorrow. The bolts and arrows, for ten. To a limit of seven score …”
Jardarah vented, “Sire, we don’t need to listen to this crock; the man is a common brigand for asking such prices. And to the king of Paladia no less!”
Garan appeared to gauge King Pallan’s reaction and Territh’s.
King Pallan and the Kae’lem merchant stared each other down for several long seconds; Territh made no appearance of submission to the Paladian king.
“The price is set, firmly, at nine hundred—depending of course on the number of shields required—in addition to the six hundred for the swords and the thirty etars for t
he spears and arrows. Bolts.”
King Pallan grumbled. “Jaegar, how many shields do you believe we require?”
Jaegar conferred quietly with Jardarah; Garan attempted to overhear their conversation. Jaegar soon announced, “Thirty.”
King Pallan relayed to Territh, “Thirty.”
Territh confirmed, “Thirty.” He remarked a moment afterward, “Another hundred haightears.”
Jaegar shook his head as Jardarah gritted his teeth in anger.
King Pallan said in reply, “A hundred; done. And for the lances?”
Territh responded coldly, “As I indicated to you prior—twenty etars for a reasonable amount.”
King Pallan demanded, “Define a reasonable amount.”
Territh smiled very slowly. “Ten.”
Jardarah interjected, “Pfft. Ten. A reasonable amount … Sire—we could take what we need by force.”
Garan’s eyes lit up; a seeming eagerness for battle flashed over him.
King Pallan turned to Jardarah. He said nothing to his adventurous soldier. His expression alone told of his fury.
Jardarah put his head down in shame and blushed strongly.
Territh offered a light warning. “We have a private security force that is more than the equal of you and your men; it would not be in your best interests to attempt what he said.”
Yarek came close to his king, hunching a degree.
Garan slowly clenched one of his fists.
King Pallan took a step nearer to the resolute merchant. “I will attempt no such thing; I am good for my money. Prepare the items we have requested by tomorrow. You will have full payment before day’s end.”
Territh nodded to him. “By tomorrow, upon receipt of payment.”
Yarek noted to King Pallan softly, “We will need to barter for the payment; the currency is foreign to us.”
King Pallan answered Yarek in a muted manner as he leaned his head to him a tad, not removing his eyes from Territh. “Yes, I know; we will exchange some of our goods for the currency.” He then asked Territh, “Any chance we can barter for the goods? We have many things of value to trade …”
Overlords Page 14
