Blood and Shadows

  After leaving the manor, the companions and their two captives made their way back to the Angry Bull. Dawyn had placed each of the captives on a horse and tied their horses to others in the group, so they would be forced to follow. They made decent time to the inn, where they all sat down, exhausted. Horace went to fetch beer, ale and wine for everyone, along with whatever food he could find in the back.

  The two prisoners were placed in the wine cellar beneath the inn, with the door to the room padlocked. They were chained to large racks of beer that would not soon give way. They had been blindfolded and gagged, to prevent them from spewing their vile treachery or seeing where they had been taken.

  In the aftermath of the fight at the manor, the city was in chaos. Word had spread through the streets that the lord and lady had been ousted as traitors. Patriots of the kingdom had begun organizing militias and fighting back against known assassins and thieves who, until now, had been allowed to roam free while good citizens were punished. The casualties were high on both sides but, as the afternoon wore on to evening, then to nightfall, the citizens began to win. By dawn, the city was free of the shadow that had been cast by the denizens of the underworld in Henry’s Crossing.

  With the shadow lifted, the people went back to their normal routines. It concerned them that there was no lord or lady in the manor, but not for long. They knew that a new one would be appointed soon enough.

  After the dust settled from the day-long battle for independence, Dawyn went down to the docks and found a vessel in port that bore the flag of Tar Ebon. Although the royal navy did not patrol the waters of the Tar River, they did traverse up the river when ferrying troops or traveling dignitaries to and from the capital. He approached the ship and announced himself, being welcomed aboard.

  Speaking with Captain Reynard, Dawyn arranged to have the two prisoners in his custody transferred to the Dauntless and sailed up the Tar River to Tar Ebon. A squad of royal marines accompanied Dawyn back to the Angry Bull where they retrieved the prisoners. Before they left, Dawyn provided them with the sealed letter he had written for the king, detailing their journey so far and their current actions.

  As the marines left, Dawyn entered the main room of the inn and took a seat. The others were gathered there as well, chatting about the events of the past few days, sharing stories. The Angry Bull had started to have patrons once again, so Horace and Eugenie were not sitting around, they were busy waiting on customers.

  “So,” Favio said as Dawyn sat down, “about where Lord Garik is. What are we going to do about it?”

  “Did you fill in the others?” Dawyn asked, gesturing to Alivia and Anwyn.

  “Aye, I filled them both in.”

  “Good. Here are my thoughts, then. First, Mara Damare is over a week’s ride from here. It may be faster to go by coastal ship, but the trick is finding one that can go faster than riding. Most coastal ships want to stop at the port city of Valnos and offload their wares while taking on new merchandise to sell elsewhere. This would lose us a day, possibly two.” The city of Valnos was the primary ocean port in the kingdom of Tar Ebon. It was the largest port between the White and Windy Mountains, though it was eclipsed tenfold by the mighty coastal city named the Citadel, nestled on the southeastern tip of the continent that Tar Ebon lay on. Regardless, coastal ships headed to Valnos from Tar Ebon would be losing money by not stopping in the city.

  “One option is we could pay a ship captain extra to take us past Valnos without stopping. But I expect he would charge us for the cost of all the products on his ship, claiming that any or all of the items could be sold. While we have a good amount of money, I’m not keen on spending it all on a ship that may save us but a few days of travel, weather permitting.”

  “So we will just ride cross-country?” Alivia asked.

  “I think that would be best, considering the circumstances, yes,” Dawyn replied.

  “I agree with Dawyn,” Anwyn said, speaking up at last. “Besides, I’m not keen on water very much. I like to feel dry land beneath my feet.”

  “That’s settled then,” Dawyn said. “We’ll take the overland route and hope we arrive in time. Favio, did you get any sense of when this meeting would begin?”

  “From the information I gathered it seemed that Lord Tomas was preparing to leave in two days’ time by carriage for the meeting. I believe this means that we have time on our side, for now.”

  “That’s good news,” Dawyn said. “We’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning. Get a long nights rest everyone, we’ll need it.”

  Chapter 20: The Crossroads