Arrows of Promise (Kingmakers Book 2) (28 page)

Ashlynn actually had a bounce in her stride as they walked
along the twisting trail. “So. Bandits are all gone. Ash, you insisted on being
the spokesperson for the village, but do you know what you’re going to say?”

“More or less.”

“You are going to warn them to be nice to Broden and Riana?”
Ashlynn’s expression became fierce and tight all over again. “Because fighting
most of the day hasn’t cooled my temper any. If they are insulted, I won’t sit
still.”

Ash lifted a hand to stall her. “I’ll warn them,” he
promised. “From everything that the two of you have told me, though, and based
on my own experience here last time, I don’t think this conversation is going
to go smoothly. In fact, I expect our whole visit here to be rocky. Dealing
with the bandits might well be the easiest part of this whole trip.”

Broden groaned even as the village walls came within sight. “I
would lay odds ye be right on that, lad. Anyone want to bet?”

“No takers,” Ashlynn denied. She was already tensing up in
anticipation of how poorly it would go. Still, she threw her shoulders back and
marched ahead. “Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible and then go
home.”

“Ravenscroft. I thought we’d seen the last of ye.” To
Riana’s ears, Ombudsman Eden sounded ever so slightly relieved that he was
wrong. But then, with both Ravenscrofts gone, there wouldn’t be anyone handy to
deal with the bandits. Eden couldn’t kick a life-long habit however and this
relief was fleeting. “What be ye doing back?” he demanded.

Ash cut in before Broden could say a word, stepping in front
of him like a living shield. There was a smile on his face that didn’t reach
his eyes. “Do you remember me, Ombudsman? I came up here early this spring to
cut down trees.”

“Aye, I remember ye fine, Wizard. Ye need more lumber?” Eden
asked, but he was looking at the rest of the group and obviously wondering what
was going on.

“No. I came up here for entirely different reasons. I would
like to discuss those reasons with you and the rest of your village.”

Eden dipped his head slowly in agreement. “We will hear ye
out, Wizard.”

Ash’s smile became set, like it was carved into a mask.
“Before we get to business, I need to address something else first. Ombudsman,
when I left, I took Broden and Riana with me. They became wizard-partners in
Estole, Riana to me, Broden to my sister there.”

“Wizard-partners?” Eden repeated as if the words themselves
were foreign, as well they might be. Riana had needed Ash to explain it to her
as she had never heard of it before he came.

“I can explain in further depth, if you need me to, but what
you must understand in this moment is that the two of them are very precious to
us. They are as vital to Estole as we are and are well known and respected in
my country.” Here the smile died entirely. “If anyone here offers insult to
them, we will not take it kindly or with any tolerance.”

This confused Eden more, not less. The villagers, looking
on, started murmuring to each other in loud whispers and their tones said they
were just as confused and a little incredulous that anyone would think to stand
up for the archers. Riana hadn’t expected anything different. This attitude of
theirs had been passed down from generation to generation. It wouldn’t
disappear just because Ash said so. It would take something far more impactful
than that.

But she was also aware that Ash and Ashlynn both were ready
to thump the first person that offered them an insult. It was why she watched
the pair so carefully. She was ready to catch them before they could lunge at
someone.

Ash cleared his throat, evening out his expression. “I’ve
come here as a messenger from the King of Estole. He wishes to establish trade
relations with you. Will you hear me?”

“Now hold on,” Eden objected, “even up here, we heard what
be going on. Estole rebelled against Iysh. Ye think ye can offer us trade?”

“Iysh has sent two armies against us and failed. Iysh hasn’t
had anything to do with you in living memory. Why do you care what Iysh wants?”
Ash parried neatly.

Riana eyed him sideways. True, she had given an opinion of
how the village would react to the offer, but that response of his was too
smooth. He must have been rehearsing this in his head on the walk up here.

Eden fumbled, rocked back on his heels, and stared at Ash
hard. He wasn’t the brightest of men so it took him more than a moment to think
of how to respond. “Why offer it to us?”

“Two reasons. First, we need more food. We’ve had so many
people come to Estole that we’re having trouble feeding them all. This mountain
has rich soil and people that know how to farm it. You’re a resource we need.”

The village nodded almost as a whole in agreement. They were
satisfied with that answer as it made sense to them.

“Second,” Ash continued, “the bandits that were here in
Cloud’s Rest have taken advantage of the relative isolation of this place for
too long. They thought they could use it to their advantage and they attacked
us more than once. We feel that if we have an open relationship with you, you
can tell us when other bandits try to move into this area, and we can prevent
them from building up in force again.”

“Were here?” Eden repeated, eyes narrowing. “Ye talk as if
they were no’ here now.”

“They aren’t.” Ash gave him a merciless baring of the teeth.
“We wiped them out today.”

Eden choked, spluttered, and threw up his hands in agitation
and disbelief. “There be five gangs of them in this area alone!”

“Not anymore. They dared to attack our country three
different times. We got tired of it and came up to deal with it personally.”

Riana wondered if Ash realized what a formidable picture he
presented just then. The bandits were the monster under the bed for Cloud’s Rest.
It was the reason why no one wanted to step outside alone, the reason why the
Ravenscroft family had been tolerated, not to mention why no one braved the
road to Senn without a full escort. To casually say that a group of six people
went in and decimated
all five gangs
was like declaring they could
destroy darkness itself.

Gerrard had been quiet up until this point but when the
dumbfounded silence stretched to an uncomfortable length, he stepped forward
and spread casually onto the ground the rough signs that each bandit gang had
posted to mark their territory. They made a very loud clattering sound as they
hit the packed dirt. It shocked a few people enough that they jumped.

The physical proof in front of their eyes convinced them
when nothing else could have.

It took two clearings of his throat, but Eden finally
regained his voice enough to croak, “All gone? Ye sure?”

“Dead certain.” Ash didn’t smile, which made the macabre pun
more nerve-racking. “Well? Knowing that you have nothing more to fear from
these five gangs, are you more inclined to talk to us now?”

Eden straightened his shirt and vest, drew up his shoulders,
and tried to look more confident. The effort didn’t quite work as intended. “I
can hear ye out. Wife! Bring out some chairs! This way, Wizard.”

They all followed along, of course, wanting to hear how this
would pan out and be able to jump in if they needed to. Eden led them directly
to the bakery, the only place in town that had two outside tables, and gestured
them into the chairs. The wizards found places readily enough but there weren’t
enough chairs for everyone to sit.

Riana was sure that it was reflex on Ascha’s part. Eden’s
wife was the more intolerant out of the villagers and was always the first to
chase them away. It wouldn’t occur to her to bring them out chairs as well,
even a crude stool. Broden saw the problem immediately and tried to circumvent
it by going into the bakery himself to find a pair of chairs.

Ascha met him in the door and shook an outraged finger at
him. “There be no call for the likes of ye to come in here. Ye can stand.”

Riana’s skin tingled as Ashlynn’s magic roared to life. It
came off her in visible waves, bright enough to hurt a person’s eyes.

“What did you just say to him?” she demanded in a flat voice,
magic sparking in arcs.

Ascha squeaked like a mouse and backpedaled straight into
the doorframe, eyes wide as saucers. “I-I—”

“What. Did. You. Just. Say.” Ashlynn descended in her
direction like a fury.

Broden swore under his breath and grabbed her around the
waist, dragging his partner back. “Easy, lass, easy.”

“I will not
stand
for any insult against you,” she
snarled, trying to get free of his grip without actually hurting him. “Let go!”

“Lass, breathe,” he urged her patiently, grip like iron.
“Habits can no’ change in a day. Hearts take longer than that.”

“Habit or not, Ash
just
warned everyone to not insult
you. Obviously I have to engrave that on her skin to get it through her head.”
Ashlynn squirmed even harder, to no avail. “Let
go
.”

Broden grabbed her by the side of her face and forced her
head to turn toward his. “Ashlynn.”

Hearing her name, so rarely used out of his mouth, stopped
her dead. Her eyes locked with his, lips parted.

“Ashlynn,” he repeated, this time gently. “Ye scared the
light out of her already. Call it even and let it go.”

She stared at him a moment more, as if wanting to be
stubborn about it, but her magic was already fading around her, a visible sign
that she was regaining her lost temper. Finally, she pursed her lips in a pout.
“It’s really unfair when you do that. You know that, right?”

“Aye, lass, I know.” He grinned down at her and let go so
that she could find her own center again.

Not willing to let it completely side, Ashlynn pointed a
stern finger at the woman. “We were not jesting earlier. Your behavior toward
my archers has been abominable and there was not one good reason for it. It
stops now. You don’t have to agree with what I’m saying but you
will
be
courteous.”

No one dared to ask what the consequence would be if this
demand wasn’t met.

It was Crobin, standing off on the sidelines, that fetched
two more chairs and silently placed them nearby. Riana thanked him quietly and
dragged them a little closer, making sure that one of them was near Ashlynn so
her father could sit on her. She sat next to Ash for the same reason. He hadn’t
reacted physically when Ascha spoke, but the spike of anger through their bond
had been strong enough to light a bonfire with. Ashlynn had simply beaten him
to it, that was all.

Riana sat slowly, her eyes scanning the village as she did
so. It was then that she realized how wise it had been of Ash to have them take
care of the gangs first. Because of that, the village was willing to hear them
out in spite of the demands they were giving. If not for that, then they would
have made no headway.

Ash cleared his throat. “Ombudsman, we realize that you are
rather cut off from the world up here. You only have one road leading up here
and it is…patchy in places. I remember it well. We are offering to build a
highway that directly connects you to Estole’s settlement. It will give you
direct access to the channel, giving you more trade opportunities, and a clear
route that is guaranteed to be protected by us all year round.”

They had the ombudsman’s full attention now. He leaned in a
little closer, eyes locked on Ash. “Even winter?”

“Even then, although granted you probably won’t be getting
nearly as much traffic. You will also have access to the wizards that live in
Estole and be able to request things of them.” Ash added in a deliberately
casual manner, “We have a wizarding school that is being built even as we
speak. In a few years, we will have over twenty wizards available for hire.”

Riana had told Ash to offer those two things first. It was the
isolation, the inability to call quickly for help that drove everyone in this
village half-crazy. Especially during the winters.

Eden was inclined to agree just on those two conditions
alone—she could see it in his face—but of course he had other opinions to
factor in. His eyes darted to several faces before asking, “Ye said ye wanted
to trade for food. How much food?”

“As much as you’re willing to trade,” Ash countered
immediately. “We have no strict requirements. In return, we offer a variety of
trade goods: glass, textiles, medicines, and wizarding services of course if
you choose to barter.”

This really was an excellent deal, better than the village
had ever been offered. Ash had deliberately couched it in the best possible
light.

“Ye offer more than a fair trade agreement,” Eden finally
stated. “But as ombudsman, I must discuss this with everyone first. It might
take a while.”

“We brought our own equipment so we can set up a camp,” Ash
assured him. “We didn’t expect an immediate answer. Show us a clear space where
we can stay for a while and we’ll let you talk this out without interrupting.
Of course, if you have questions or need clarification on things, you’re
welcome to come speak with me.”

“There be a space behind the town hall.”

Ash looked to Riana for an opinion. “It be a fine spot,” she
stated, “with a well nearby. It has enough space for us all.”

“Then we’ll be there.” Ash stood, gave a courteous half-bow
toward his host, and gestured for Riana to lead on.

She did so, aware that everyone in the village was looking
at them. It made her skin crawl unpleasantly. Staying in the village like this
was unavoidable, they needed to be nearby until they had a verdict, but she’d
rather stay in a bandit’s camp than here.

Ash reached for her hand, tangling fingers together, as he
whispered against her temple, “It’ll be fine. Just stay close to me.”

There was many a shocked whisper because of his actions but
it made Riana smile. Sometimes, like now, old habits tried to ambush her and
make her into that unwelcome misfit that used to be from Cloud’s Rest. But
whenever it happened, Ash would reach out to her as he did now and remind her
that she was now from Estole and was a councilwoman, no less. She had nothing
to fear from these people. They no longer had the power to overshadow her.

This was one habit she needed to break.

They retrieved their stowed gear first, then trooped back
into the village and the spot that they’d been assigned. Everyone pitched their
own tents without needing much in the way of help. Riana was of a mind to take
advantage of being near the village and buying something hot for dinner instead
of cooking over a fire. In the village, there were really only two places to
get food: baker and butcher. If she put in an order to both now, they’d have
time to cook it, and by the time the camp was completely set up they could just
fetch it back and eat it at their leisure.

To Kirsty, she said, “We can order some food made up for us
here.”

Kirsty straightened back up from where she had been arguing
with the tent pole. “Oh? That sounds like a fine plan. Do you need me to go
along?”