Okay everyone here is chapter six. This was interesting to write and I hope you enjoy it. I would like to give The Red Dove and thank you. A signed review, alert and favorite all in one made my day. Come on people follow his example. Read and review.
Everything was black, I felt like I was drifting. I heard something; was it shouting? I saw a light and felt myself drifting closer. A man with white hair was standing then he fell backwards a bolt sticking out of his chest. He landed with a bloody thump and then darkness. I then saw a woman with terror written on her face as she grabbed at her guts as they fell from a long cut along her stomach. A man was trying to flee only to receive a crossbow bolt to the back. A man screaming as he crawled away before a sword pierced his back. Why was I being forced to relive what I had done? I wanted it to stop, Gods I regret what I had did I just wanted those images to stop. I tried to scream to find my throat tight. I heard someone calling my name.
"Treda," the voice called.
Where was it coming from?
"Treda," the voice said getting louder.
My eyes snapped open and I found myself back in the wagon. My clothes were stuck to my skin due to a layer of sweat. I turned to find Ymira, who had her hand on my shoulder.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"Y-yes," I stammered.
"Are you sure? You looked like you were having night terrors," she said with a hint of worry in her voice.
"I'm fine, really," I said assuring her, "just a dream," I muttered
"That's good," she said suspiciously.
"When did I fall a sleep?" I asked remembering where we were.
"A few hours ago," she stated, "After yesterday I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep sooner."
I saw Jelkala coming into view and I breathed a sigh of relief; we had made it back into the Rhodoks territory unharmed.
"Treda."
"Yes?"
"Are you really going to sell those people into slavery?" she asked toning her voice down.
"Why? Do you think we shouldn't?" I asked.
"I'm curious, because I don't think you should," she said almost pleadingly, "we already took so much from them."
"And if I said I was going to anyways?" I asked curiously.
"I would accept it but it would pain me to see it," she said sorrowfully.
"I guess it wouldn't be a huge loss to our profits," I said perking her interest.
"Really?" she said surprised.
"Yes when we get to the city, I'll get to releasing the peasants, you go and sell the goods in the market. We'll meet at the tavern we stayed at a while ago," I said nodding.
"Thank you," she said cheerfully as she pulled me into an awkward hug. We were still sitting on the wagon.
Eventually we hit the town gates. I hopped off and headed to the last of the wagons.
"Hold up," I said to the man with the reins.
"Yes sir," he said questioningly.
"Stop the wagon for a moment," I said hopping up on to the seat.
"Sir," he said in his same questioning tone.
"This will just take a moment."
The other wagons kept moving into the city until they turned a corner.
"Ok head in," I said motioning forward, "left here."
"Where are we going?" he asked curiously.
"Before we left I asked the bartender where I might sell off certain merchandise," I said nodding my head to the back of the wagon.
The man nodded.
We reached a man who wore fine black robes with a hood covering his eyes.
"Sir may I ask why you are here?" the man asked unmoving.
"I am looking to dispose of some… cargo," I said carefully.
"May I inspect your… cargo?" he asked.
"Be my guest," I said as he headed to the back of the wagon. After a moment he headed back to the front.
"How many are there?" he inquired.
"Thirty; twenty males and ten females," I stated.
"They appear unharmed and healthy. I will give you thirty Denars each," he said motioning to a couple of men.
"That'll do," I said nodding.
The men came forward and began to forcefully pull people from the wagon. The Hooded man pulled out a coin purse from seemingly nowhere and tossed it to me. I opened it and counted quickly; everything was accounted for. After the wagon was empty we left. I clipped the pouch to my belt and turned to the driver.
"Listen here. Not a damned word of what I just did leaves this wagon," I said to seriously.
"Sir?" he asked curiously.
"I mean it soldier. If anyone asks we let the slaves go and sent them back to the remains of their town."
"If you say so," the man said looking forward again.
I hate to say that I considered killing the man next to me. I could come up with some tall tale. Weather it was that he left or disappeared. But I restrained the thoughts and we continued on. We met up with the rest of the company as planned.
Everyone was talking happily and drinking. Ymira, was drinking by herself as usual, I grabbed a pint and sat next to her.
"So the peasants were set free?" Ymira asked curiously.
"Yes," I said lying with a smile. Gods it hurt to lie to her but I couldn't tell the truth.
She practically jumped at me bringing me into an embrace and we fell to the ground.
"Thank you," she whispered.
We just lay there for a moment. As we got up I could feel my face burning up and saw that she was blushing herself. I quickly gulped down my pint and signaled for another. The bartender walked over and gave us both another round.
"Ha and you said you weren't together," the bartender whispered to me as he set down the mugs.
I couldn't think of anything to say which got a louder laugh from the bartender as he headed back to his post.
"What did he say?" Ymira asked questioningly.
"N-nothing," I said quickly.
"Right," she said as if knowing I wasn't being honest.
"On a different note, how much money did we make?" I asked changing the subject.
She pulled out that ledger she was making a habit of carrying.
"Let's see, we made fourteen-thousand-four-hundred and fifty-two Denars," she said closing the book.
I was literally speechless. Luxury items fetched a high price, I supposed even more so in the capital city of a nation. The city had its poor sections, but it also had more of the upper crust of the Rhodok population that any other town in its nation. We would have money for new equipment and provisions. We would have to set off for further towns to gather more recruits. I decided it was time for some new equipment of my own.
"Ymira, could you do me a favor?" I asked her watching her down another pint.
"Sure Treda. What did you have in mind?" she asked.
"I want to get some equipment at the market and I was wondering if you could accompany me and help me haggle," I asked hopefully.
"Sure," she said standing up.
"Thanks," I said as we headed to the wagons.
We headed to the market to the blacksmith. The balding man standing over the forge was a sight to behold. He would give Balda, a run for his money. The giant of a man was hammering at a sword. He lifted the red hot blade off the anvil and put it into a barrel of water; steam rising with a hiss.
"What can I do you for," the man asked picking up a new blade from the forge.
"I am looking to purchase a weapon and armor."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I'm looking for a full set of chainmail, a helmet with a visor, a set of boots, a set of gauntlets, a war cleaver and a new round shield," I said ticking off my fingers.
"Fine sir, my apprentice will get you fitted. But before that how about we start discussing cost."
"How about your apprentice gets the armor fitted while you talk to my friend here," I said nodding to Ymira, "she handles my finances."
"As you wish sir, Jara," He called.
A boy ran out of the building.
"Yes sir?" he asked.
"Take this man and get him suited up with a set of chainmail, a clamshell helmet, iron boots, iron gauntlets, a war cleaver and a round shield."
"Yes sir," he said motioning for me to follow.
Entering I was in awe. There were racks of weapons of every shape and size. Several suites of armor made from various metals with several styles of helmets; from pot helmets and kettle helmets to ones that resembled faces.
"Vlumir is an artist. The way he works steel is extraordinary, I'm just lucky he took me as his apprentice," the boy said walking me to the end of the building, "stand right here sir," he said heading to several racks.
He grabbed several items and came over. He helped me out of my leather and into the equipment and got it fitted. It was like a glove tailored for me. I was draped in chainmail, including gloves. The helmet even with the visor down offered me good vision. This boy was right, his master was a true craftsman. He then got me the cleaver and shield. The cleaver was a vicious looking weapon. With a blade several paces long with deep grooves at the end this thing was made for hacking and slashing. The cleaver was almost weightless, the shield more than made up for it, but this equipment was amazingly well made; it also had a price to match.
"Five-thousand Denars?" I said in disbelief.
"That's what I talked him down to."
"Gods, I don't want to think about what you talked him down from," I said shaking my head, "well let's pay the man and leave."
She nodded and began to count the coins.
"Thank you for your business sir," the blacksmith said continuing to hammer steel.
"Ymira, I need to get one more thing," I said heading off.
I went and found a tailor and got a tabard made. I had to wait a couple of hours but it was worth it to don my family colors. After that we headed back to the tavern to plan our next move.
"Treda, while you were lounging around waiting for your tabard I was talking to my contacts. They say that demand for iron should rise tremendously in Shariz," Ymira said pointing out a town on the map. It was in the Sarranid Sultanate. That was good, the Sarranids and the Rhodoks had been at peace for a few months. It also occurred to me that the Rhodoks didn't have any outstanding problems with the Sarranids; meaning I would be able to secure recruits from Sarranid towns. I mapped out our route with Ymira.
We bought a huge amount of iron bars from the market along with more provisions. That left us almost broke… again. We left the city the following morning and headed southbound; before noon we had picked up six men in Ibdeles. Close to eight hours eastbound later we had made it to Chelez; we picked up two men there and left quickly. We stopped in Jamiche for the night where three men joined up. From Jamiche you could just about see the Sarranid desert. It would be my first time in the desert and I had already heard a lot; not just from my men. I had heard about the rolling sand dunes and the roving bandits. They rode camels and desert horses and struck quickly and without warning. The Sarranids are known for light infantry and cavalry. I hadn't seen them in battle but I had heard much as I said. They used devastating scimitars and other curved blades along with Jarrids and bows. I had been planning since I started my company how I would make my army. I knew that soon I would be ready for my first strikes against the Vaegirs.
Before the sun began its trip across the sky we headed out. We weren't quick enough to beat the sun from hitting the sky as we reached the desert. It was completely alien to me. The sun wasn't unpleasant in Rhodok country. Just twenty minutes into the desert and sweat was pouring down my back; and I wasn't even walking. I had to make sure I didn't push the horses to hard; the last thing I wanted was them passing out… or worse.
It should have taken three hours, but it took seven. We had to slow down considerably for the horse's sake. Not even thinking, all we had brought was ale. The men didn't mind to crack into the kegs, the horses however. After the seven hours we reached Hawaha. My jaw was slack, the town was beautiful. The buildings of the Vaegirs were dark and had an age to them; the buildings of the Rhodoks had a light gray almost white color. The buildings of the Sarranids were white as snow. The roofs were flat, not needing to have deep slants as it almost never rained in the Sarranid desert. We were greeted by veiled women and men with odd looking hats and head wraps. I found that village elder a man in his late fifties helping around the town.
"Greetings traveler," the man greeted me in an odd accent.
"I am Treda of house Helmaer," I said introducing myself, "I am looking for anyone who wants to seek their fortune in war."
"I can think of quite a few who would jump at such an opportunity. But you aren't one of us. How do I know that you won't just use them as hostages when our next war with the Rhodoks rolls around? Or you won't just kill them for the fun of it."
"Rhodoks?" I inquired.
"You think I don't know what they look like?" he asked pointing to the men in the wagon.
"I have hired these men from the Rhodoks territory, yes. But I have no ties with the country itself," I said truthfully, "I'm not the kind of man who would sell humans for a bit of coin," I said lying through my teeth.
"Anyone can say that, but I'm still not sure," he said still unsure of his answer.
"What about if I give you five Denars for each man who joins up? You can keep it as collateral and put it towards the village," I suggested.
"Hmm, that might just work," he thought aloud, "you have yourself a deal. I might not be in my prime, but I swear that you better not do anything to my people," he said as threatening as an old man could.
"You have my word I will not do these men harm."
The elder then headed off. He came back with seventeen men. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Now then Treda, where is the coin?" the elder asked.
"Treda, we don't have enough money to pay him for everyone. We barely have enough for five," Ymira whispered.
"It's ok I've got it," I said pulling out a pouch of money. I pulled out eighty-five Denars and trickled them into the elder's hands. The men headed to the end of our line of wagons and got on board without a word. They each had a short curved blade at his side and a bag of Jarrids at his back. They all had full sets of cloths and head wraps. Gods I will never understand how they do that. I had of course taken off my chain mail but I was still sweating. These men didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
We then headed south-east towards Ayn Asuadi. We reached the village to find it the same stunning white as Hawaha. We only managed to get eight recruits. I ended up having to pay the elder of Asuadi too. I swear these men were in communication on how to get as much money from me as possible.
As we were heading towards Shariz I noticed the sun beginning to lower. I was happy that the sun would no longer be beating down upon my head. We would travel all night if we had to so we wouldn't have to travel during the day.
I noticed something off to my right. It was one of the men we had picked up jogging next to the wagon.
"Gods soldier what are doing?" I asked surprised.
"Sir we're going to have to stop soon," he said a hint of urgency in his voice.
"Why would we do that soldier? The sun is almost down, without it beating down on us and the horses we should make good time to Shariz," I stated.
"Well sir that would work perfectly if not for one thing."
"And that would be?"
"When the sun goes down the desert drops well below zero. We may be cool but you people aren't prepared for it. My comrades and I are dressed for this climate. You are not. The horses may die leaving you a long walk from Shariz. With all the cargo you have, that is something I'm sure you don't want to happen."
"Gods," I muttered as I signaled for the other wagons to halt.
We had blankets but I didn't think we would be using them in the middle of the desert. We used some blankets to cover the horses. We then cracked out the bed rolls and set up camp. We had a bit of fire wood and set up several fires.
Laying in the cold I was staring up at the night sky. I loved just looking up at the stars.
"T-Treda," I heard Ymira call.
The fire had died down considerably but I could still see her.
"Yes Ymira," I replied.
"I-I'm cold," she sputtered.
"Oh," I said unsure of what to say.
"I-I read in a book once that to k-keep our bodies warm the best thing is another b-b-body."
"OH," I said getting what she was saying, "umm well I'm right over here."
I saw her get up and walk slowly over.
She lay next to me and cuddled up. My heart started beating a little faster.
"Treda," she whispered.
"Y-yes," I stammered.
"Can I ask you something?"
"S-sure."
"Where did you get that money from," she asked quietly.
My heart almost stopped. I had to quickly think of something.
"A… side deal," I said truthfully.
"What kind of deal?"
"I sold some things I picked up in Ibiran."
"Really?"
"Really , really."
"Good," she said moving closer, "I was worried you sold those people to slavery."
She hit me right to the core. Gods she didn't know it but heart had stopped. She had hit the nail on the head without being aware of it. I just lay there not saying anything. I waited until I heard her snoring lightly before I let out a shallow breath. I was in a compromising position with a beautiful woman but I couldn't move a muscle. Eventually I felt my eyelids begin to droop and sleep eventually overtook me.
I was shaken awake.
"Sir we should get moving now," a familiar voice called.
Sitting up I found myself staring at the eyes of who I think was the man who stopped us last night.
"What is soldier," I said suppressing a yawn.
"I know you wouldn't mind spending time with your woman, but I feel it is my duty as your soldier to inform you that there is a group of desert raiders nearby," he said almost nonchalantly.
Any trace of sleep left my system.
"Gods, do they know where we are?" I asked quickly.
"They do not. Me and my fellow people were scouting. We spotted a group of perhaps fifty riders about a mile from here. That may seem farm to an outsider but this is their home. If they spot this caravan they will come charging. I suggest that we pack up quickly and make haste to our destination. If we can get a head start we could either avoid them altogether or outrun them."
I took in what I was told.
"Everybody up!" I shouted.
Every one of the Sarranids was up in a second. It took a moment for the Rhodoks to raise and gather up.
"Everyone I have been informed that there is a large enemy force nearby. Pack your sleep rolls and get into the wagons. If you aren't ready to leave you will be left behind," I bellowed, "that's it get on with it."
Everyone quickly gathered their sleeping rolls and headed for the wagons. Ymira was still on the ground sleeping. I carefully scooped her up and put her down carefully on the seat of the wagon. I then grabbed the bed sleeping rolls and tossed them in the back. Within moments we were off.
Ymira stirred after a few minutes of the wagon moving.
"What's going on," she said yawning deeply.
"We're on our way to Shariz," I said worriedly.
"What's wrong?" she asked taking my worried tone.
"I was informed of fifty riders nearby our camp site. We had to leave quickly to avoid getting attacked."
Her eyes widened a bit.
"Did we get away?" she asked.
"Looks like it," I said letting out a deep breath.
She grabbed my arm and pulled herself closer.
"Good," she said quietly.
I glanced down at Ymira, admiring her beauty in the sun rise; her golden blonde hair seemed to shimmer, her emerald green eyes sparkled.
"Beautiful," I said quietly.
"I know," she said and I nearly choked, "I just love to what the sunrise."
"Y-yes, the sunrise is beautiful," I said breathing out.
As we rid over a dune we were greeted with another beautiful sight. The city of Shariz, the tall white buildings was a sight to behold in the sunrise. I could hear a collective sigh of relief as the gates came into view. We were stopped momentarily by guards who wanted to check our cargo. They were alarmed at first by the armed men in the wagons; they calmed down a bit when they saw fellow Sarranids traveling with us. We headed into the city of white and made a line to the market. Ymira hopped off the wagon and began talking to people. After a talking to a few people she headed back to me.
"Treda, were going to be here a couple of day," she said getting back onto the wagon.
"Why?" I inquired.
"The price is beginning to rise but if we want to get the most for our money we should wait for the price to hit its peak. Then we sell everything for maximum profit."
I understood that and we headed for the tavern. We locked up our cargo and before we headed inside I realized it was payday.
"Ymira, do you have your ledger?"
"I've begun keeping it on me at all times," she said pulling out the book.
We headed up into the tavern and everyone got there pay. When it came to who I think saved us twice I slipped him four coins instead of two. He nodded in thanks and went to the bar. We were lounging about when I spotted someone. He was a man in yellow and red robes drinking alone. His clothes appeared to be high quality. But this was far from an extravagant tavern. Ymira was drinking back a pint so I figured I would talk to the man. He appeared to be a Sarranid man in his late forties at least. His hair was gray and thinning with a bushy beard on his face.
"Mind if I share a drink with you stranger?" I asked.
"Sure, sit and listen to my tale of woe," he said motioning for me to sit, "my name is Artimenner. I have been working in this town for some time, working for Emir Hiwan. He hired my superior and me for some construction work. We were building a wall for the Emir, but my superior thought it wise to cut costs and not leave enough to finish the job. Emir Hiwan was atop the wall when it collapsed, he was killed in the accident. My superior refused the blame and pointed the finger at me, that resulted in me receiving the blame, and prejudice of Hiwan's death. Now I sit here wallowing in drink waiting for one of the new Emir's men to find me and put me to the axe."
"What kind of skills could you offer a company of soldiers?" I inquired curiously.
"Well I can't handle a blade. But I can knock down walls and with enough time and coin I can build them up again to. Why do you ask?"
"I happen to run a company of men who could use an engineer. If you would be willing to join up with us I can try to ensure your safety from this problem."
"Not that your offer isn't good. But I will need a bit of money before I can leave here. I'm sure three-hundred Denars would cover it."
The man was no fool. He knew I wanted his help, he also knew that if I needed it bad enough I would be willing to pay. I pulled out my purse and tossed him a pouch of three-hundred Denars.
"Much obliged… what is your name sir?"
"Treda of house Helmaer, pleased to make your acquaintance Artimenner.
"When do you think we will be leaving? Now that I've got a job that pays I don't to lose that and my head."
"We'll be here a couple of days. We have some merchandise to sell and are waiting for the right moment."
"Ok sir," he said sipping his drink.
I motioned for Ymira. She came over and sat down.
"Ymira, this is Artimenner, our new engineer," I said introducing the two, "Artimenner, this is Ymira, the group merchant extraordinaire.
She blushed a bit.
"Oh stop that," she said turning her head.
"Modest I see miss," Artimenner said chuckling.
"You don't know the half of it," I said with a nod.
We sat and drank and talked. Artimenner kept talking about the amazing accomplishments he had been a part of. He had made war machines for taking down castle walls; he had then later been hired to build those walls back up. I knew that I had to keep Artimenner with my forces. I knew he would be a key for my future plans.
We spent the following couple of days just lounging around the tavern drinking and talking. On the third day in Shariz we sold all of our iron. We bought close to ninety-five hundred Denars worth and made thirteen-thousand. We didn't double our money but we did make a nice profit.
"Treda I believe we can make a bit more money on another trip," Ymira said to me after we sold the iron.
"How so?" I asked.
"I talked to the town's guild master. He said that he needs someone to deliver a bunch of fine wines to an upscale tavern in Durquba. The job will take us deeper into the desert but pays two thousand Denars,"
"Two-thousand sounds like a bit much for a simple delivery job. Explain."
"Well there have been a lot of bandit groups running around as of late. The price is high because of the risk. But on the plus side we can hire more men along the way. I have already mapped out a route," she said pulling out the map, "we can recruit from Mit Nun, Dhibbain and Tilimsal on the way there, then from Shibal Zumr, Qalyut and Rushdigh on the way back."
"Gods, we are going to need more wagons," I muttered.
"Taken care of," she said with a smile, "I bought three new wagons."
Gods, this woman thought of everything.
We left shortly after we picked up the wine. But not before we picked up lots of water and provisions. My army had reached eighty-six people. At this rate I would have a caravan of wagons so long I could have one wagon arriving in a city while the last wagon was still leaving the previous city. I chuckled at the thought.
We picked up seven men in Mit Nun. Gods, the heat was bad in the desert. Dhibbain offered us thirteen men for ten Denars a man. Reluctantly I paid them. We only got two men from Tilimsal. It took us close to three days to make our destination. The days were boiling hot and the night's cold. Every night Ymira would cuddle up to me. Thankfully she didn't have any more questions for me. We reached the city without error to find it had a similar beauty to Shariz. We handed over the wine and received our pay. We resupplied and left almost immediately. Reaching the village of Shibal Zumr before sundown, we picked up six men and stayed the night. The Sarranids not only made beautiful buildings they made them effectively. The buildings were warm and comfortable.
We had an uneventful trip to Qalyut, where we picked up five more men. Everything was going smoothly until about half way to Rushdigh. I found my Sarranid scout jogging beside our wagon.
"Sir I thought that you should know we are being followed," he said in his usual nonchalant tone.
"How many?"
"Seventy riders at least."
We outnumbered them, but the fact they were all on horseback changed things.
"How long until they reach us?" I asked.
"About an hour from now."
"Gods we need to act now," I said slowing the column.
I began bellowing the plan to everyone.
"Ymira, this is going to get ugly. I want you to hide, bring Artimenner with you. We can't afford to lose either of you," I said as I donned my armor. She nodded trustingly.
The column entered in between two large sand dunes. Everyone got ready for action. The riders could be seen kicking up a large cloud of dust as they closed in on the back of the caravan.
The riders were along all of wagons in moments.
They began shouting when they noticed something.
There was no one in the wagons.
We stood up at the top of the dunes and shouted.
We volley of crossbow bolts signaled our charge.
Men fell limp from their horses. Others fell when their horses died. Over a hundred men charged in unison down the dunes. The bandits reacted quickly. I watched as men took arrows and went limp falling and rolling down the dune. I watched as one of my Sarranid soldiers threw a Jarrid taking a man from his horse. It wasn't my best idea to don full chainmail in the desert. But it did save me from a slash a rider took at me with his scimitar. I retaliated with my cleaver; I lopped the head off his horse in one motion, blood sprayed onto my helmet, the cleaver was sharp as a blade could be. The rider fell from his limp horse only to find my cleaver in his chest from an overhead swing.
I had a lot of my Rhodok soldiers use the spears we had in the wagons. The huge board shields also came in handy as we made sure to form a box to not let any bandits escape.
I swung at a bandit who was on horseback. He tried to block the swing, but failed. I took a huge chunk out of his side. Blood poured like a river from the wound as he fell limp from his horse. The battle lasted a while as the bandits tried unsuccessfully to regroup. We closed in quickly taking no prisoners. I watched them realize their fate but continue to fight on. By the end of the fight the sands were red with blood, both theirs… and ours. We lost ten men and had thrice that in wounded. We scavenged everything, by that I mean EVERYTHING. We stripped everyone of gear; gathering up gear from dead Rhodoks and Sarranids from our company, and stripping the bandits as well. We buried our dead as deep as the sands allowed, and left the bandits for the buzzards. We also gathered their horses tying the horses to the last wagon. I took off my armor and put it back into the wagon and we resumed our travel.
"Treda, how do you do it?" Ymira asked as we reached Rushdigh.
"Do what?"
"Kill people like that. Don't you feel anything?"
"I stopped feeling bad after what you said to me, after that attack in the forest, I realized that people are going to die. It pains me to have to take lives and watch my men die. But this kind of thing happens every day. I can't let anything stop me from my goal."
"I'm just glad I couldn't see your face," she said shaking her head.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Well when you were killing those peasants, you had this look on your face. I can't quite place it but it was scary," she said shivering.
We picked up six men in Rushdigh and decided to stay the rest of the day and recuperate. We left early in the morning to avoid the sun. It was just beginning to heat up when we reached Shariz. We let the guild master know of our success. That was when it happened.
There was a dirty man moving crates. The man was covered in sweat and was working hard.
"Treda," Ymira said looking at the man, "Doesn't that man look kind of familiar."
I had to agree with her he looked really familiar, I just couldn't place it.
"You there," Ymira called out to the man.
A man dressed in fine clothes rushed out.
"You cannot talk to my slave. He is too busy for idle chat."
"Please," Ymira said pleadingly.
He made a grunt.
"Fine," he said giving in, "slave!" he barked.
As the man neared my eyes began to pop out of my head.
"Slave, this woman wants a word with you, as soon as you are done back to work or I will whip you," the man said heading off.
"What is it ma'am," he asked.
I had turned away.
"You look familiar, may I ask where you hail from?" she asked.
Here it comes.
"Swadia, ma'am," he said sighing, "I hail from the village Ibiran."
She just stared at him for a moment.
"Oh…" she said lowly, "thank you, carry on."
I had already begun to walk away.
"You bastard," I heard from behind me.
I could feel her eyes burning a hole in my back. I turned to meet her gaze and ended up looking at the ground instead.
She closed the gap.
"You bastard!" She cried as she began to hit my chest with her fists, tears were trickling down her cheeks, "I trusted you," she said her delicate hands kept hitting me but slowing down, "that's where you got that money from. You said you sold things you picked up in Ibiran, but they were people not just items."
"Look, Ymira…" I began.
"Don't you liar," she said backing up a step, "you said you wouldn't sell them into slavery. You said you would let them go," she said choking back a sob, "I believed you and you sold them. Not only that but you looked me in the eye and lied about it. You took everything from those people. You took their family, their friends, their belongings and their town. Then you took the final piece. You took their freedom."
"Ymira, I had to do it. If I hadn't we wouldn't have had the money to get those men from Hawaha. We wouldn't have been warned about the bandits and we wouldn't have known about the nights here. If I hadn't sold those people into slavery we would either be food for the buzzards after the bandits killed us, or food for the buzzards after freezing to death in the middle of the desert. Look I know I shouldn't have done it, but I had to."
She turned away from and began walking towards the tavern.
"I'm done talking to you."
I stood there for a while. I walked around Shariz for a few hours thinking. I knew that I shouldn't have sold those people but I had to. My points were valid; those people lost their freedom so we could live. Well at least that's how I rationalized it.
Eventually I found my way back to the tavern. Ymira was sitting alone drinking. I tried to talk to her.
"Look, Ymira…" I began.
"Don't just leave me be," she said returning to her drinking.
I sighed and went over to Artimenner.
"Treda, I think you royally screwed up," he said shaking his head, "what in the Gods names did you do to upset her."
"I sold some Swadian peasants into slavery," I muttered.
"So?" he said curiously.
"I promised her I wouldn't. She believed me and I did it anyways."
"Ah," he said stroking his beard, "seems like you broke her trust."
"But I had to do it," I said trying to defend a lost cause.
"Even if you had to, you shouldn't have said one thing and did another. Especially when you care for her so deeply," he said continuing to stroke his beard.
"Eh?"
"Boy I may be getting old, but I'm not blind. Gods I've only been with your group a few days and I catch you stealing glances at her whenever you get the chance."
"Look, I'm a nobleman; she's just a merchant's daughter. It wouldn't work."
"Treda, I'm fifty-six years old. I have heard of everything. I have heard poets say that true love conquers all. I've heard tales of paupers marrying princesses. I'm sure that something can be worked out. The only thing I can suggest right now is to apologize to her, then hope to the Gods that she is forgiving."
I let out a sigh. I knew he was right but I couldn't bring myself to face her right away. I decided that I would get a couple of drinks in me first. Grabbing my first drink I sat back down with Artimenner and chatted swigging down the ale.
That is it for chapter six, one thing before an announcement. Let me know in the comments whether you guys think Ymira should be forgiving towards Treda or if I should keep her angry with him. Come on guys you have at least a week or so before the next chapter so let me know.
As I said in my profile I have exams next week and won't have time for writing. I do however have two weeks break after, during that time I will try to put out at least two chapters. Until next time, remember read and review.