Authors: Usman Ijaz
1
Adrian and Connor sat down at the table, dressed
in their finest, and looked at the two men opposite of them. They were both
smoking pipes and the smoke hung thick in the air. Alexis introduced the man
with the graying dark hair as Hamar, and the other with the orange hair and the
bright scar on his left cheek as Owain.
“These are the innkeeper’s sons.”
Adrian felt a flash of guilt at Alexis’s words,
but he didn’t correct him. For what felt like forever Hamar and Owain simply
stared holes through Connor and him. At last, Hamar spoke in a deep voice.
“It’s nice to meet you, young masters.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well, sir,” Connor
replied. His politeness stunned Adrian, until he realized that Connor’s father
was likely watching this little interaction from behind the counter, and
probably with great awe.
“A well spoken lad,” Owain said.
“They’re both well spoken,” Alexis said, sitting
down. “I spent most of the afternoon talking with them.”
Again Adrian noticed Hamar and Owain studying
them closely over their pipes, and he began to feel a little uncomfortable.
“How long have you two lived here?” asked Owain
suddenly, as though only in passing ... but his eyes betrayed his interest.
“Our whole lives,” said Adrian warily.
“And do you like it?”
Connor answered. “It’s not a bad city, but I’m
getting tired of this.”
“I know what you mean,” Alexis said, smiling to
himself. To Adrian the smile looked bitter and sad.
Their talk was interrupted as Anne and Hailey
set out their dinner: succulent roast duck alongside a large bowl of gravy, a
puree of boiled vegetables, onion pastries, and toasted heels of bread. Adrian
saw the small glances and smiles both girls threw towards Alexis, but he
doubted the other man even noticed them. The girls walked away frowning. As the
company at the table began to eat, Adrian realized that all three men kept
their gloves on.
“What’s
Carlstown like?” Connor asked as he helped himself to the roast duck and
drowned the meat in a thick layer of gravy. “It’s close to Grandal, so you must
see a lot of Legionnaires.”
“Not as much as you would think,” Alexis
answered. “Much of the Legion stays close within Grandal. As for Carlstown,
it’s a common town with its wealth based mainly on sweet potatoes, barley, and
wool.”
A question struck Adrian suddenly as he watched
the three men. “Are the three of you related?”
The three men exchanged glances, and then Hamar
and Owain burst out laughing. It was a harsh sound coming from the two men, as
though they were unused to the act. Alexis simply smiled.
“No, lad, we’re not related,” Owain said,
smiling thinly. He seemed a less colder man then. “We’re simply three men
hoping to make some connections east. The west, I think, has as much wool as it
can handle.”
“Alexis said you might be going as far as
Teihr,” said Connor. “How long do you suppose it will take you to get there?”
It was Hamar who answered, his gaze still
considering, weighing. “At this rate, I would say perhaps another month or so.
You two are not brothers, are you?”
Adrian and Connor looked at one another and then
back at the men across them. “No,” Adrian said. “We’re cousins.”
“Ah. Yes,” said Hamar. “I could it in your
eyes.”
They ate in silence then. The older men drank
beer while Alexis kept to wine and the two boys settled for water. Adrian
looked around once and saw Connor’s father behind the bar, apparently cleaning
out a mug, but also watching them. He saw Adrian and gave him a small smile.
Adrian also saw Tarak pushing a broom near the door and keeping an eye on their
table. Tarak smiled at him, a smile that reassured Adrian they were doing good,
and that he was there should anything happen. Adrian returned his attention to
his table and to his present company. Connor was questioning the men about all
the places they had been through thus far, and if half of what he had heard of
those outside places compared with their own experiences. Alexis answered him
patiently, while Hamar and Owain waved aside the questions, but always throwing
those curious glances towards them. Adrian could not quite bring himself to
meet their gazes for long; they only stared back, as though oblivious to his
discomfort.
When there was a lull in the talk, they ate
silently, until even Connor protested that he could not eat another bite. The
dishes were cleared away by Anne and Hailey. Again the two girls tried to
attract Alexis’s attention, and received a polite smile. Adrian shook his head
to himself as he watched the girls leave, whispering to one another like little
children.
It was Alexis that broke the lasting silence at
the table.
“So what do you two hope to do with your lives?”
he asked lightly, as if it were of no importance at all. “I imagine you have no
wish to keep working in the stables.”
Connor shook his head. “I want to move away,
maybe even to Grandal or Sienna, and open my own inn.”
Adrian smiled as he shook his head. Connor’s
head was always full of fancies and a strong desire to be somewhere he had only
heard about. Knowing Connor, he might very well move away to one of those
places.
“And you, Adrian?” Alexis asked.
Adrian gave it more thought than his cousin had.
“I don’t know. For the moment I’m happy to stay here.”
They talked for a while after their dinner was
over, of all that the elders had seen and heard on their travels, and what the
youngsters did around the city. By the time they finished, Adrian still felt he
did not know enough about the three men. He and Connor shook hands with them
and left the table then.
“What did you think of them?” Adrian asked
softly as they headed to where Tarrak stood.
Connor shrugged. “They seem nice enough; after a
while, that is. I could almost feel the cold breezes near the beginning.”
“I agree. Though, I couldn’t shake the feeling
that they were studying us.”
“Studying us? Don’t be silly.” Connor grinned.
“They were simply sizing us up, no doubt they realize real threats when they
see them.”
“How was dinner?” Tarak asked.
“A little akward,” Adrian admitted.
“Yes, well, they seem like odd men. Did you find
out where they come from?”
“Carlstown,” said Connor.
Tarak rubbed his grizzled chin. “Can’t say I’ve
heard of it.”
“It’s suppose to be near the City of Lights,”
Connor said.
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Tarak
said. “Well, in any case, you two look plenty tired. Go on and get to bed.”
“Night, Tarak,” Adrian said, and they headed for
the kitchens. He looked back toward the table they had occupied, and saw that
Owain and Alexis had left for their rooms. Hamar sat there alone, smoking his
pipe, his face clouded in deep thought.
Connor’s father beckoned them over before they could
go into the kitchens. “How did it go?”
“Fairly good,” said Adrian.
“Were you two courteous to them?”
“Yes, da. We shook their hands, and referred to
them as ‘sirs’,” Connor answered, yawning.
“Well, that’s good to know,” his father said.
“It’s good to see you two learning how to be civil.”
The two headed to the kitchens for some warm
milk.
2
“Alexis, you have to come down to the docks with
us!”
Connor received a curious look from Alexis, that
perpetual smile on his lips. He stood over Adrian and him, watching them play,
but mostly the three of them just talked. Alexis’s dark hair clung to his
scalp, damp with sweat. The air in the stables was hot and humid, with no
breeze from outside to alleviate the dry choke. Alexis wiped the sweat from his
forehead with the back of one gloved hand and asked what for, still smiling.
“The fireworks! There’s going to be a huge
display down by the docks!” Connor sensed how great his excitement was, and yet
was incapable of lowering it. It seemed infectious.
“There is nothing else for me to do. We were
supposed to meet with some merchants here, but it looks as though they’ve yet
to show up. I suppose I will.”
“Great! Do you want to play marbles?”
“Not now,” Alexis said, looking around in a
distracted manner. “I’ve got to try and find Hamar and Owain.”
Adrian glanced up from where he knelt. “They
left about an hour ago. I saw Quinn preparing their mounts as I came in.”
Connor watched Alexis’s gaze travel to the surly
Quinn at the rear, throwing feed for the hens, and he saw Alexis’s lips thin in
a frown. “I suppose I’ll have to try and find them. Can one of you boys saddle
my horse for me?”
“I’ll do it,” Connor said, and rose to go to the
stalls. He understood Alexis’s reservations about Quinn; the man looked as though
he absolutely hated to be there and didn’t seem to be enjoying his duties at
all. He saw Connor approaching and gave him a baleful look. It was a surprise
to Connor that his father still kept the man on, along with the other
stablehand. Jic was not so bad, not when Quinn wasn’t around, but he still had
a tendency to show the same laziness that afflicted Quinn.
“Why don’t you get off your ass and help me out
here?” Quinn spat at him as he saw him approach.
“Because it’s
your
duty,” Connor told him
vehemently. “You should have fed the hens when you first came in, not left it
until nearly afternoon. Adrian and I are only to help you, not do your duties
for you.”
Quinn turned away from him looking disgusted and
walked off muttering obscenities under his breath. For a moment Connor felt
like challenging the man, but he let it drop. He would talk to his father about
him again. He saddled Alexis’s mare and led it to the entrance.
“Is he going to cause any trouble for you?”
Alexis asked as he took the reins.
“All right. I’ll see you boys later.” Alexis
walked his horse out into the morning light and disappeared around the street.
Connor thought he looked agitated about something, but didn’t comment on it to
Adrian.
The boys returned to their lax game. After a
while Adrian said, “What’s taking Jic so long?” He spoke as though it was a
distant thought, though, something to say aloud, while his face betrayed his
serious concentration. Connor watched him quietly, wondering what plagued his
mind. It was not hard to notice the recent change in his cousin.
It must be
the nightmares
, he thought. He wished he could understand how mere dreams
could trouble someone so much, but he didn’t want to hurt Adrian’s feelings by
voicing the thought aloud. It was no wonder that he was so excited about the
Festival, he was making up for Adrian’s lack of interest, as well.
“He better not try to use the same excuse as
last time,” Connor said. “How can a man who’s lived here all his life forget
the damn way?”
Adrian made no response, and Connor wondered if
he even heard him. The sound of shod hooves on the cobblestone street reached
his ears. Connor looked past the open doors to see Jic rounding the street,
driving the single pony pulling the cart with the aid of a switch. He was beating
the animal as though it was a racehorse.
“Stop that!” Connor stood up and walked to the
gates. “Ed’s going as fast as he can.” Adrian came and stood beside him,
watching as though just awakening to the scenario. “What took you so long,
anyway?”
Jic glanced behind them to where Quinn stood and
a devious smile spread over his cracked lips. “I got turned around, what with
all the people and all.”
“You--” Connor began, and was cut off as Adrian
placed a hand on his arm.
“Let it go,” Adrian said quietly. “He’s not
worth it.”
Connor didn’t agree; he thought both the
stablemen deserved whatever harsh reprimand they received. But at Adrian’s
insistence he let the matter drop and allowed his cousin to push him towards
the inn.
“Do a proper job of stacking the feed in the
shack,” Connor called over his shoulder. He turned to Adrian as soon as they
were within the cool shade of the common room. “What is it? The man’s an
idiot!”
“I know. But even idiots don’t like being talked
to that way, not by someone a quarter their age.”
“Who’s this you’re talking about?” Tarrak asked
as he crossed the mostly empty room, his repair kit in one hand.
“Those idiots in the stables!” spat Connor. “I’m
going to talk to my father about them again.”
“You probably won’t have to worry about them for
long,” Tarrak told him, halting him in his step. “Your father told me that even
no help is better than incompetent help. I told him that I’d be willing to mind
the stables for the few hours after dusk when we’re still open. Of course, that
means that you two would have more responsibilities during the day.”