Messenger of the Dark Prophet (The Bowl of Souls: Book Two) (45 page)

“
Yer
dag
-gum right,”
Nhed
said.

“Bah!
Them
academy boys couldn't afford my work.”

“Don't be so sure,” Zambon argued. “Academy graduates are probably the best paid soldiers in the known lands. They would pay well for weapons like these.”
Nhed
nodded his chubby red face in agreement.

“Maybe so.”
Lenny grunted. “But that's
somethin
' to worry 'bout later.
Nhed
, I'm
gonna
be gone
fer
a while and I don't know when I'll be back. Can you handle it?”

Nhed
scowled. “Of course I can! You were gone
fer
over three months last time and I made a hefty profit. My work may not measure up to yours, but I make a good sword myself.”

“Fine, fine.
I'll get some stuff and be on my way then.” Lenny went through the door in the back of the shop and Zambon turned to
Nhed
who was grinning to himself.

“I still don't understand. With weapons such as these, why isn't your business booming?”

“We been blacklisted by the duke's men,” the dwarf explained. “See, Uncle Lenui was approached by two of them that weren't as scruffy as the others. They were captains or something in the duke’s army, and my uncle was
itchin
' to try some new designs, so he decided to accept the commissions, and at a hefty price, too. See, whenever some minor noble gets a raise in status, they like to throw money around.

“Well, when he was finished, they were two of the nicest swords he'd done in a long time. When the two captains came back in, they drooled all over the swords, but then they refused to pay and said they wanted to think about it first.

“Well, they must've watched us put the swords away, because when I came out in the morning, someone had broken into the shop during the night and stolen just those two swords out of where we had them hidden. Later when we heard about two men in the duke's army
braggin
' about how they got two magical swords for free, Uncle Lenui was furious.”

“Magical swords?”
Zambon asked.

“Yeah, my uncle got carried away I guess. He does that sometimes.
Especially when he's trying out something new.
So he used some of his magic ore to make the blades.”

“So what did your uncle do?”

“I'll tell you what I done,” said Lenny as he came back into the room carrying a sack that bulged with supplies. “I found out where one of them liked to drink, so I took Buster with me and started
bustin
' knees until I got my sword back.”

Nhed
interrupted, “Then Uncle found out where the other captain was and it ended up that he was on a journey to the Razbeck border. Well, he took off after the man.”

“
Dag
-blasted fool!” Lenny growled.

“And it ends up that he's dead before Uncle even gets there. Well, after questioning some of the men that were still alive-.”

“With my fists mind you,” Lenny interjected.

“He found out that they had been under orders to kill this giant and the giant ended up way tougher than they could handle.
So Uncle Lenui goes after the giant to get his sword back.”

The dwarf spoke so quickly that Zambon had a hard time following the story.
“A giant?”
He looked at Lenny. “You went after a giant by yourself?”

“
Why'er
you so surprised? I done killed lots of giants in my time. I hate the stupid things. Anyways, so I follow the tracks and when I find the giant, it's a
garl-friggin
rock giant and I thought, hell, this should be easier than
gettin
' a gnome drunk.” He noticed Zambon's skeptical look and added, “Buster loves
killin
' giants and he loves
bustin
' rock even more.”

“Buster is your hammer, right?”

“Yeah.”
Lenny looked sad for a moment, but continued, “So, I tell the rock giant that I want my
dag
-blamed sword back. It just laughs at me and says to fight
fer
it. Well, like I said, I've done killed lots of giants before, but
thisun's
different. It was fast and smart. So it took a while, but when Buster finally hit it, the
durn
thing roared like its skivvies caught fire!”

“So did you get the sword back?”

“Nope,”
Nhed
answered.

“Son of a . . .
Nhed
,
let me tell the gall-
durn
story! So anyway, I busted its foot open and the giant was
hoppin
' around on one foot and
hollerin
'. Then it took Buster away from me and booted me out of its territory.”

“Wait. How did it take Buster away from you?” Zambon asked.

“Hell, it just reached down and grabbed him by the head. Now I held on 'cause I wasn't about to let go of my Buster, but the big corn-jigger lifted me up off the ground and drop kicked me into the trees!”

The thought of the irascible dwarf being kicked through the air was quite amusing, but the serious look in Lenny's eyes kept any smile from reaching Zambon's lips.

“I tried to get Buster back, but the
dag
-blasted giant wouldn't do it. Called it spoils of battle or
somethin
’ like that. Anyway, I've been
tryin
' to think of a way to get Buster back ever since.”

“Uncle won't make a weapon with any other hammer,”
Nhed
said.

“Wouldn't be worth it.
Wouldn't have the right feel,” Lenny grumbled.

“Anyway, while Uncle Lenui was gone, the duke's men got the word out that no one was to buy anything from our shop. Normally the duke's men would just arrest and kill anyone that crossed them. But if they tried that with my uncle, every dwarf in Dremald would rise up and take them out. So instead, they play it low and anyone who buys from us gets their house ransacked or whatever and the King's guards won't do anything about it.”  The dwarf sighed. “We haven’t had a customer in weeks.”

“I see,” Zambon said. “Then let me be the first. I have
been wanting
a new sword for a long time, but until now I have not found one that would be a suitable replacement.” He drew his sword. “This sword has served me well through many battles, but even though it’s strong and well balanced, it’s just a plain sword. I have a feeling that I'm going to need to fight many a battle in the road ahead and I need a worthy sword to do it with.”

“Good!” said
Nhed
, a twinkle in his eye at the thought of a sale. “That trinket you've been using isn't up to the task I'm sure. How much do you want to spend?”

Nhed
walked Zambon around the shop and showed him swords that looked to be the right weight and balance for him. Lenny leaned on the counter and watched the academy graduate, stroking his handlebar mustache thoughtfully.

Just as
Nhed
and Zambon began to
haggle
over one sword that Zambon particularly wanted, Lenny interrupted.

“
Nhed
, sometimes I think you're dumber than kiln dust! He
don't
want that cheap thing!”

Nhed
raised one eyebrow. “But he's picked one of the best swords in the place.”

“Nah, there's one I
think’ll
fit him better.” Lenny grabbed Zambon's arm and led him through the door in the back of the shop. “You need a weapon that sings.”

The room that housed the weapon shop was only the front of the building. Lenny and
Nhed
lived in smaller rooms in the back, but the largest area was right behind the shop. This was Lenny's forge and workroom.

Other than a vent hole in the ceiling, the only source of light in the room emanated from the forge, which glowed bright and hot. At the opposite end of the room was a long thick table and workbench. Many tools of different sorts lay on top of the table, most of them stained with soot from the heat of the forge.

Lenny led Zambon past the table to a spot in the wall where he pulled out a loose brick. From within the contained space, he withdrew a long wrapped bundle. “Now this, my boy, is a weapon that sings!”

He let the wrapping fall to the floor.

Zambon gasped. This weapon was indeed superior to the other swords he had seen in the shop. The pommel shone as the purest silver and the hilt was covered in fiery gold runes. When Lenny let him slide the blade from the finely made, but practical, sheath, Zambon saw that set in the base of the blade by the hilt was a white gem surrounded by a burst of golden runes.

 The moment that he touched the pommel, Zambon felt good. He couldn't quite explain it, but he felt more . . . alive. The weapon had perfect balance and a keen edge and its polished surface glowed in the light from the forge.

“You know, I was actually glad when that captain wasn’t
willin
’ to pay
fer
this sword. He weren’t worthy of it. See, this sword won’t nick or rust and there ain’t much in this world that could break it. But what makes it real powerful is that it’s a
healin
’ sword. You'll heal way
faster’n
normal whenever
yer
holdin
’ the sword.”

Zambon gulped. “How much are you asking? I suppose that it doesn't matter, because no matter how much I have, it could not be enough to pay for this thing of beauty.”

Lenny
grinned
his gap-toothed grin. “How much you got?”

“Thirty gold and
twenty silver
.”

Lenny whistled through his missing tooth. “That’s a lot
fer
a soldier.”

Zambon couldn’t take his eyes off of the sword. “Like I said, academy graduates are the best paid soldiers. Besides, I don’t spend money unless I think it’s worth it.”

 “Well, I’ll think on the
askin
’ price, son. Just you hold on to that sword while we get our gear together.” Lenny moved to the back of the room and opened what appeared to be a storage space. “I always keep supplies just in case I need to leave at short notice. Let’s see now. The rogue horse can take care of herself, so that means three of us
includin
’ the elf. Let’s say a week of food with water along the way and a couple bottles of pepperbean wine . . . That should do it.”

He emerged with two full packs and tossed one to Zambon. “Now all we need’s a quiver of arrows
fer
the elf and a couple replacement swords
fer
the boy.”

They picked out two swords of similar length and weight to Justan's old ones and
Nhed
brought some bread and cheese for them to eat before they left. Zambon ate very little, excited about his new sword and eager to get on the road. Finally Lenny called out.

“Alright, we got half an hour 'til sundown. It’s about time we’d left. Zambon, I’ve been
thinkin
’ on the price of that there sword. The duke's men were
gonna
pay me fifty gold and the fair price would be closer to a hundred.” The guard’s face fell, and Lenny smiled. “But in
yer
case I’ll settle
fer
fifteen. I’m
givin
’ you a five gold discount
fer
payin
’ my tab with Arlene.”

Zambon eagerly handed the coins over and Lenny turned back to
Nhed
. “Listen,
Nhed
. I’ve decided it’s time
fer
a move. See, if
me
and Zambon are successful in
savin
’ the boy, chances are that the duke’s men will make life here even harder
fer
us.”

Nhed
smiled. “Thanks, Uncle! I’ve been
sayin
' we should leave this place
fer
a long time! But where are we going?”

“I got me a plan.” The dwarf handed
Nhed
the money that Zambon had given him. “Gather up six or seven strong dwarves that are good with a weapon, like maybe Pall or
Rahbbie
and some others. Hire them to guard you on the move. Try to pay them with price-three weapons if you can.”

“But Uncle, don’t you think six or seven dwarves
is
a little much?”