The Coravian Conflict (Stavin DragonBlessed Book 5)

by Loren K. Jones

  Karvik finally pulled Stavin back and got punched in the belly for the effort. Since he was in armor, it didn’t have much effect.

  “Damn it, Stave, it’s me!” he shouted and watched as Stavin fought to regain his composure.

  “Execute that fool,” he growled as he looked down at the priest.

  Karvik knelt and checked the man, then stood. “Too late. Your gauntlets shattered his skull.”

  Stavin’s growl intensified for a moment, then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Very well. Haul that trash to Lebawan’s temple and dump it on the steps. Tell those fools inside that the next time I’m attacked, I’ll burn the temple down around their ears.”

  “Stave?”

  “Tell them, Kar. Make them believe it. Tell them before one of them makes a move on Shari or the kids.”

  Karvik froze for a moment, then nodded. “As you command.” Then he motioned toward the bodies and four men grabbed each of them and tossed them into the back of the wagon.

  Stavin looked at Karvik and said, “Take three men with you. The rest of us will ride back to the inn.”

  Karvik nodded and drove the wagon away, and Stavin turned toward the remaining guardsmen. “Let’s drag the tree into the courtyard for the night.”

  The guardsmen immediately began moving the tree, but ten of them took up guard positions, facing away from the temple. Stavin nodded his approval, then did what he could to help move the tree.

  Once they returned to the inn, Stavin ordered everyone to the bathing room while another watch section took up the guard duty.

  Once he was clean and properly dressed, he joined Shari in the common room. “We had more trouble with Lebawan’s priests.”

  “I heard,” Shari replied without looking at him. “You shouldn’t have had the bodies dumped on the temple steps, Stavin. You are antagonizing them for no reason.”

  “I have every reason, Shari. If they had come after you like that--” His voice took on an almost pleading tone. “My armor protects me. You don’t have that luxury. The children don’t, either. Lebawan’s priests have to believe I’ll kill them all if they continue attacking us.”

  Shari looked him in the eyes as she whispered, “You’re just making them hate us more.”

  Stavin shook his head. “They would condemn me for being small, and the rest of you for being my family. That’s their way. They don’t have to have a reason to hate us: we’re defective in their eyes, and condemned.”

  Shari closed her eyes and bowed her head. “Perhaps you are right, Stavin. Perhaps you are right. Or were. It doesn’t matter anymore. The deed is done. Is the tree in the temple?”

  “Yes, but it was a tight fit getting it through the back door and out into the cloister. It’s a good thing birch is so flexible at that size.” He sighed mightily. “The old tree must have been hundreds of years old.”

  “Val says over three hundred. As old as the temple.” Shari looked at him and shook her head. “The worship of Lebawan didn’t reach these lands until about two hundred years ago. Since then there has been an uneasy truce between them, backed by the laws of Coravia. Until Zel’Draval.”

  Stavin reached across the table and took both of her hands in his. “Shari, Karvar Zel’Draval is dead, and King Teravan is secure on his throne. Those fool priests have got to admit defeat--or die. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to be any gentler with them than they were with the people in the palace. Ellie estimated that seven hundred and thirty people of every Clan from Chosen to Common died at the hands of those priests.”

  Shari yanked her hands away from him as she shouted, “Those priests, not these! You can’t condemn every follower of Lebawan for the action of a few! That’s as bad as them condemning the whole family because of one member! We’re not them! We’re better than that! We’re smarter than that! It’s as wrong for us to do it as it was for them!” She slammed her chair over backwards and stamped away, across the room and up the stairs.

  Karvik waited until she had slammed the door to the suite before he righted her chair and sat in it. “She has a point.”

  Stavin put his head in his hands and sighed, “I know.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  Stavin asked, “How long have they been on bread and water?” without looking up.

  “Four days, since our second day here.”

  Stavin nodded as he finally looked at Karvik again. “Provide them--” He paused as an idea curved his lips with a nasty grin and made him chuckle. “Provide them Army Trail Rations.”

  Karvik gave him a stunned look. “Hard tack, jerked meat, and water? I can just imagine some Chosen priest eating that.”

  Stavin grinned, then started laughing for real. “Could be worse. How about our trail rations at the beginning of the expedition: beans, beans, and more beans.”

  Now Karvik laughed and pointed a finger at his prince. “That’s just plain mean. Especially in close quarters. I’ll pass the instructions to Captain Zel’Corval. He knows how many men are in there. You’ll have to authorize the purchase of extra supplies for the troops.”

  Stavin was nodding. “Fresh supplies for our troops. Have the old supplies provided to the priests.”

  Karvik slapped Stavin’s shoulder. “That’s more like my prince and friend.”

  Stavin grinned, then looked at the innkeeper. He held up two fingers, and just a moment later two tall glasses of dark beer were on the table in front of them. Karvik sipped and nodded. “Good beer. A little bitter, but we’ve had worse.” Karvik sat back and looked at the beer.

  Stavin took a sip and nodded. “I wonder why Shari is being so impatient with me?”

  Karvik shook his head. “She’s been overly patient for a long time, Stave.”

  “But why is she yelling at me now?”

  Karvik shook his head sadly. “Remember why she wanted a bath? Other than the way you smelled?”

  Stavin nodded. “Because she--” He broke off as a comically horrified expression crossed his face. “It’s been three days.”

  “Four.”

  Stavin shook his head. “This is bad.”

  Karvik grinned. “For you.”

  Chapter 27

  IT TOOK NINETEEN DAYS FOR LORD General Zel’Enred to arrive. During that time Stavin, Shari, and their children, along with the Royal Guards, worked to restore Lady Sahren’s temple. The people of Deltar, especially the Lady Mayor and her council, aided them by providing building materials, furnishings, and occasionally skilled labor such as stone masons.

  Lord General Nardan Zel’Enred was escorted into the temple of Lady Sahren the Nurturer and found Prince Stavin standing on the shoulders of a tall young Royal Guards major, attaching a string of beads to a set of hooks in the ceiling. “Just one more, Kar,” Stavin said without looking down.

  “All right, I’m moving forward,” the major replied as he carefully walked to the next beam while Stavin walked his hands across the ceiling to keep his balance.

  Stavin secured the beads to the hook, then said, “That’s it. Let me down.”

  Karvik reached up with both hands and Stavin grabbed them, then carefully knelt. Reaching down with one bare foot he hooked his toes into Karvik’s weapon’s harness. From there it was a short drop to the floor, and Stavin bowed to the general.

  “Welcome to Deltar, General Zel’Enred. You made good time getting here.”

  The general bowed deeply, but didn’t even try to hide his grin. “We were already on patrol and headed this way when your messengers reached us, Prince Stavin. I took the liberty of informing his majesty of the trouble here and your actions. He has already ordered all of the priests to Moravad for trial.”

  Stavin bowed slightly, then looked around. “And Lady Sahren’s temple is as whole as we can make it.”

  Shari joined them and put an arm around Stavin’s shoulders. “Lord General Zel’Enred, we came this way in order to visit you. And to see if you’d dug up anything interesting.” She chuckl
ed at his expression.

  The general returned her chuckle and shook his head. “No, Princess Sharindis, nothing new, though it’s not from a lack of trying. It seems that every community has a scholar who wants to make the next big discovery.”

  Stavin smiled and hugged Shari’s waist with one arm. “We heard about someone trying to find Klamath and Modoc. That’s an expedition I’d love to be on.”

  “Indeed,” the general said, “and so would I. I almost retired in order to do just that, but my duty to King Teravan kept me in uniform. And then Zel’Draval--” He paused and shook his head slowly. “If you hadn’t acted as quickly as you did, I would have resigned my post and commission.”

  Stavin bowed slightly and replied, “A lot of the kingdom’s officers felt the same way. I only know of one general who openly followed Lebawan, but even he stayed loyal once he was sure King Teravan was in fact alive.”

  “Bertrand Zel’Ashlan,” Lord General Zel’Enred murmured. “I had about fifteen of the Cutter’s followers in my command, but none of them were above the rank of corporal. They made a fuss when Zel’Draval’s message came, but we put them in their place. There were no ‘inspections’ in my command other than the normal Army inspections.”

  Stavin grinned and said, “Good.”

  Shari smiled as well. “I believe our task here is done. General, we leave this mess in your capable hands. Captain Zel’Corval has his men guarding Lebawan’s temple, so we’ll let you make whatever arrangements you need to tonight, and we will be off tomorrow morning.”

  The general smiled and bowed deeply before saying, “As you command, Princess Sharindis.”

  The next morning Stavin and Shari watched as two hundred infantry troopers charged into Lebawan’s temple, dragging the priests and their followers out with their hands tied behind their backs.

  Stavin saw one man in the elaborate, if somewhat ratty, blue robes of a Priest Inquisitor. “Troopers, a moment please,” he said as he stepped forward.

  “Yes, Warmaster,” both women snapped in unison.

  Shifting his attention to the priest, he asked, “Are you Wandan?”

  The priest drew himself up to his full height and shouted, “I am Priest Inquisitor Wandan Del’Corvak, you defective little bastard! You will address me with the respect I am due.”

  General Zel’Enred signaled to his troopers and Priest Inquisitor Del’Corvak suddenly found himself kneeling at Stavin’s feet.

  Stavin shook his head and replied, “I am Dragonblessed Senior Warmaster Prince Stavin Zel’Andral. Priest or not, you will address me with respect or I’ll gut you and leave you to die in the dirt.”

  “You can’t--” the priest began but Karvik’s fist interrupted, sending him flat on his back.

  Karvik bent over and pulled the fool back to his knees as he snarled, “You will address my prince with respect, or I’ll crush your skull.”

  “You can’t touch me! I’m a priest!”

  General Zel’Enred laughed before saying, “You are a deluded, murdering thief. King Teravan has ordered you and your followers to Moravad to stand trial. You are charged with theft, murder, and collusion of treason for supporting Karvar Zel’Draval in his attempt to take Coravia.”

  “No! The Zel’Darvin line is defective! High Priest Zel’Draval was within his rights and authority to condemn the defectives and seize their property.”

  This time it was Stavin’s foot that sent him over backwards into the dirt. “Prince Caldan was not defective. Nor was Queen Rowena. Their murder has sealed the fate of Lebawan in this kingdom.”

  “Indeed it has. By order of King Teravan, all priests who participated in the inspection and stoning of those who did not worship Lebawan are to be brought to Moravad for trial, and their temples seized.”

  Stavin was looking at the general with a surprised expression on his face, so the general explained. “That command came down seventeen days ago, Prince Stavin. It seems that the south-eastern part of the kingdom had a lot more, and worse, incidents than the north west. Whole towns were taken down there.”

  Stavin was nodding as he thought. “We heard rumors that they had stolen a lot of coin along with the properties. Be sure to search them carefully before you leave, and the temple as well. None of them will be returning, even if King Teravan doesn’t execute them.” He turned and looked the temple over carefully. “Maybe I’ll buy it and turn it into a warehouse.”

  The priest surged up from the ground shouting, “I’ll kill you!” as he moved toward Stavin.

  Lord General Zel’Enred’s dagger slammed home in his chest, stopping him well short of reaching Stavin. The general looked the dying man in the eye as he said, “You may not touch Senior Warmaster Zel’Andral.”

  Stavin bowed slightly to the general, then watched in silence as the other thirty-seven men who had been imprisoned in the temple were led by with their hands bound. Each reacted in some way to the sight of their leader lying dead in the street, but none made a fuss. None of them were loyal enough to him or Lebawan to join him.

  Chapter 28

  THE ROYAL PROCESSION CONTINUED THE NEXT morning. Shari made a point of introducing Valleran to the general, and General Zel’Enred had volunteered to pass the word to the Mother Temple in Moravad that she needed help reestablishing Lady Sahren’s temple.

  Shari stood in her stirrups and looked back at Deltar just before they entered the trees. She murmured, “I could have done without that.”

  “Without what, Mommy?” Karlin asked.

  “Without all the death and sorrow, darling,” she replied as she faced forward once again. “I really hoped we had left all of that behind us.”

  “Don’t worry, Shari,” Stavin said as she returned to her saddle. “We’re only twenty-six days from the border, and Nardan has already cleared this area.”

  They traveled for just three days before reaching the next town. Stavin didn’t have to be prompted this time and asked for an inn with a bathing room right away.

  They stayed the night, then left early the next morning. Stavin paid the innkeeper over his protests. He, like most of the people they had met along the way, felt that the honor of serving the man who had saved them from Lebawan was payment enough.

  As in the plains of Evandia, communities in this part of Coravia tended to be small towns surrounded by outlying farms, spaced about three days apart at the carriage’s pace. Stavin made it a point to stop at each town for the night and meet with the mayor and council at each stop.

  Their fourth stop was at a very large town. Stavin was at first confused, but then he saw the town’s name and the crossroads.

  “This is Ahram’s Holding, and that’s the road we took north on our first expedition! The road to Evandia is just two or three days north of here.”

  Shari said, “That’s good to know. I’m thoroughly sick of traveling.” She looked around, then said, “This looks like a good place to stop for a few days, Stavin. I need a rest.”

  Stavin bowed to her, then looked at Karvik. “You heard her, Kar. Let’s plan on three days.”

  Karvik nodded. “I’ll inform Captain Zel’Corval when we stop.”

  Karvik asked the first merchant he saw, “Where is the finest inn Ahram’s Holding has to offer?”

  The man gave him a suspicious look, then replied, “The Blue Dragon is the Chosen’s preferred inn. Who are you escorting?”

  “Prince Stavin of Evandia.”

  Karvik’s answer all but echoed through the area as dozens, then hundreds of people began repeating the news that Stavin Dragonblessed was in their town.

  The Blue Dragon Inn wasn’t very big or impressive from the outside, but the first sight of the common room stopped Stavin and Shari in their tracks. Shari was the first to recover enough to speak.

  “This is more opulent than the palace,” she whispered as she gazed at the fine furnishings and decorations.

  “Thank you,” a man’s voice said from their left. “Welcome to the Blue Dragon. I am Ch
arrel Fel’Kistan, owner and innkeeper.” He bowed deeply to both Stavin and Shari.

  Karvik stepped forward and said, “This is His Highness, Dragon Blessed Senior Warmaster Prince Stavin Markan Karvan Do’Kalin Ne’Aniston Zel’Andral of Evandia, his wife, Princess Sharindis Uralian Sarlis Ne’Aniston Zel’Andral, and their children, Prince Karlin, Princess Sahren, and Princess Mahren.”

  The innkeeper dropped to his knees as soon as he heard Stavin’s name and bowed very low again, touching his forehead to the floor. “Your Highnesses, I am honored beyond my ability to express that you have chosen to honor my humble inn. My finest suite is yours.”

  Shari took the lead since Stavin was still gazing at the room. “We thank you for your welcome, Master Fel’Kistan. Our servants will be bringing in our bags in a moment. Please have someone show them where to put them. Our only immediate need is for some refreshments to wash down the road dust.”

  “At once, Your Highness. This way, please,” he replied as he rose to his feet and led the way to a finely inlaid table. “What may I bring you, Your Highnesses?”

  Shari nodded toward Stavin and said, “Beer for Prince Stavin, tea for the children, and I will have a glass of white wine.”

  “At once, Your Highness.”

  The drinks arrived in moments, and Karvik sampled each glass. Once he’d given the nod, Shari sipped her wine and hummed in appreciation when she tasted it. “This is a very fine vintage.”

  The innkeeper bowed deeply. “Thank you, Your Highness. Lady Zel’Sorvan will be pleased to hear that you approve. The Zel’Sorvan estate is one of the finest vineyards and wineries in the kingdom.”

  Stavin gave Shari a puzzled look and asked, “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

  “Because it’s Marina’s favorite,” Shari answered with a soft smile. “She serves Zel’Sorvan wine at all of her parties. Glora loves it as well.”

  The innkeeper bowed. He didn’t have to be told who “Marina” was. “If Lady Zel’Sorvan is in town, would you care to meet her, Your Highnesses?”