Jalia and the Slavers (Jalia - World of Jalon) (10 page)

BOOK: Jalia and the Slavers (Jalia - World of Jalon)
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14.
Pip and the Slavers

 

Jalia rode Swift over the rolling grassland a mile or so away from the Magicians Road. She was getting the feel of the lay of the land in her head as she exercised her horse. She knew from previous rides that over the brow of the hill she was riding towards was a magnificent view showing the shore of Lake Telmar and the seven islands that made up the city.

The island of Ona seemed so close to the shore that Jalia wondered why they bothered building a bridge. It would have been simpler to pile up earth and stone and create a connection over the half mile separating the island from the shore. Instead a magnificent stone bridge with many arches joined the island to the mainland.

From the top of the hill she saw the Magicians Road as it cut its ‘straight as an arrow’ line across the land to the bridge. Jalia rode below the brow of the hill as she didn’t want to be seen.

Jalia, Daniel and Talla had spent ten days at the farm. It appeared to be a chaotic household, brimming over with four families and their children. Gorn Caulder and his wife, Risa, had encouraged the families to return to the farm as the situation in Telmar worsened.

The Mine Owners Association was very happy to turn the citizens of Telmar into slaves to work in the mines, but the local farmers and their produce were far too valuable to waste in the mines. Yandin Selda had declared the slavers were to leave the farmers and their families alone. So there was relative safety on the farm.

The house was overcrowded and Daniel and Jalia had escaped to the barn only to discover the barn was where the younger married couples went to practice the pleasures of marriage without disturbing the children.

In desperation to find somewhere quiet to sleep, Daniel unpacked their tent and set it up a few hundred yards into the orchard behind the barn. This did not stop them being disturbed by curious children from the moment the cock crowed, but it was better than the alternatives.

Talla was ordered to sleep in the house with the other members of the family by her formidable mother in law. Risa had her own views on what was proper for a recent widow and sleeping under the stars with a couple of traders was not on the list.

The farm was about six miles from the bridge to Ona and nestled in a valley surrounded by woodland. Despite it closeness to Telmar, it was highly unlikely that any of the Association’s men would visit the farm. It was important that the Association didn’t find out Jalia and Daniel were on the farm, as that would undoubtedly cause trouble for Gorn’s family, if not their immediate deaths.

Daniel and Jalia planned to move out in the next day or so. They planned to leave their donkeys and horses while they made their way on foot. They hadn’t yet explained their objectives to Gorn and Risa who they suspected wouldn’t approve. The family had survived by keeping their heads down and saying nothing.

Jord had set out to start a new life rather than remain close to Telmar. Their son’s death had convinced Gorn and Risa that the quiet way was the safest way.

Jalia spotted a child running over the hill heading towards the farm. She couldn’t tell which of the children it was, though it was certainly a little girl. Jalia turned Swift and urged her horse on to intercept the girl. She looked to be in a hurry and Jalia planned to offer her a ride back.

As she got closer, Jalia saw the girl was running as if her life depended on it. She nudged Swift to send the grey into a canter. The little girl turned in horror at the sound of the horse and collapsed with relief when she who was riding it.

Jalia dismounted at a run and lifted the girl from the ground. It was Trela, a nine year old granddaughter of Gorn’s, being the first child of his oldest son.

“What’s a matter Trela, is someone hurt?”

Trela was far too winded to say anything. Jalia cuddled her, as the child was quivering with fear. When she recovered Trela started shouting incoherently about Pip, Gorn’s fourteen years old son.

Jalia couldn’t get Trela to stop yelling so slapped her across the face. The little girl burst into tears holding her stinging cheek with her hand.

“Now slow down and tell me what’s happened.”

“They took Pip!” Trela screamed.

“If you don’t stop shouting I shall slap you again,” Jalia said and the little girl calmed because she knew a threat from this woman should never be taken lightly. The children had discovered that fact within hours of Jalia arriving on the farm. “Now tell me, who took Pip and where?”

“On the Maggi Road. Bad men with a cart full of people in a cage. They saw us and caught us. The big man with the scar said I was too young and to throw me back, but they kept Pip and put him in the cage. He screamed for me to tell Grandpa so I ran.” By the time Trela finished her explanation she was calm. “Are you going to go and kill the bad men?”

“Trela, I want you to go back to the farm and tell Daniel what you told me. Tell him I’m going to go and get Pip back.” Jalia looked at the little girl who stared at her with eyes wide. “Don’t run too fast as you might trip and hurt yourself. Just get there as quickly as you can, even if you have to walk.” The little girl nodded solemnly.

“I can run really fast.”

“If you trip and hurt yourself I shall spank you later,” Jalia warned. Trela gulped and decided she would only walk fast and not run after all. There were limits to what she would risk for an uncle. “Go on then. And be careful.”

As the little girl walked off quickly but carefully towards the farm, Jalia considered her options. It looked like keeping a low profile was out of the question. Slavers carried crossbows and there was no way Jalia could stage an ambush on open ground. Since she didn’t want to kill the slaves, she couldn’t risk using the magic ring. Word would get back to the Association if she did. Whatever the slaves promised, people couldn’t resist talking, it was human nature.

It looked as though she would have to rely on cunning. That might mean she could only rescue Pip. But then, that was life.

Jalia mounted Swift and drove him at a gallop over the top of the hill. The coastline of Lake Telmar spread out before her and she saw the cart being pulled by two horses in the distance. She raced her horse towards the road, noting that apart from the cart, there appeared to be no one else on it. That was a bit of luck and she hoped it was a good omen.

 

As she neared the cart, she saw Trela was right about the men being slavers. The cart was a mobile cage with half a dozen people inside. The wagon was large and the cage could have held a dozen people the way slavers usually packed them. She guessed that pickings must be slim since she and Daniel closed the road to slavers at Taybee.

The front of the coach had two levels of seats. On the lower level, the driver steered the two large horses required to pull the wagon. Above and behind him was a bench on the top of the cage, where two enormous men wearing mail shirts and carrying crossbows sat. They had noticed Jalia’s approach and two crossbows were aimed at her.

Jalia rode past the wagon and pulled Swift to a stop in the middle of the road. The driver, a heavy set man with a large scar across his face, pulled the horses to a stop and put on the brake. Pip waved at her from the cage and Jalia hoped he would have the common sense not to call out her name. Jalia thought she could help him in that regard.

“My name is Gally Delbar and you have my sister’s son, Pip in your cage,” she said. Pip looked confused for a second and then Jalia saw the light in his eyes as he caught on.

“They put me in this cage Aunty Gally. Make them let me go!” he shouted. Several of the slaves put their arms through the bars of the cage in silent appeal.

“So what? There are three of us and you’re just a girl. Perhaps we’ll put you in the cage too. What do you say, lads?” the scar faced man said with a rough laugh. His two henchmen chortled above him, but Jalia noted their crossbows never wavered.

“Yandin Selda has ordered the families of farmers are to be safe from you. My family has a large farm a few leagues in that direction.” Jalia pointed to the south, directly away from Gorn’s farm. “The Delbar Family have influence with the Association. We sell them our produce. Do you want the Association to hang you from the nearest tree for disobeying their orders?”

The scar faced man looked at his two colleagues and they looked doubtful. They shrugged at him. He turned back to Jalia.

“My name is Albar al’Crun and I’m not afraid of this Association of yours. I hear they had their gold stolen by a slip of a girl, probably not much older than you.” Crun looked at his men with their crossbows and back to Jalia, “Give me one good reason why I should give you the boy. Lad’s his age are always in demand, either to work down the mines or be used by their masters. Have you got anything to bargain with, little girl?”

Jalia looked at the man and made an assessment. People like him were bullies and prone to accept challenges if they were sure they could win. He wouldn’t accept anything like a knife throwing contest or a swordfight for fear of losing, but there was one contest he might accept.

“I will arm wrestle you for the boy, unless you’re afraid of losing to a girl?” Crun and his men couldn’t hide their amusement at this absurd challenge. Crun was built like a horse and pushing slaves around kept him in good condition. There were barely any visible muscles on the girl who couldn’t be more than five foot six tall. Crun was over six foot and had rippling muscles.

“And what do I get if I win?”

“You get to have me anyway you want, and I’ll let your men take me afterwards too, willing and ready to do things their girlfriends won’t.”

Jalia watched the men holding the crossbows lick their lips in anticipation. Judging by the bulge in Crun’s trousers, her offer was having the desired effect on him too. Jalia had long believed that when a man’s blood flow was directed to his groin, his ability to think became limited.

“This won’t take long, lads.”

Crun got off the cart and walked towards Jalia, swaggering his hips and hitching up his trousers. “Might take a bit longer after, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the show while you wait your turn.”

Jalia put the elbow of her right hand on her horse’s rump making it clear Swift’s backside was to be the table for the contest. The men with the crossbows jumped off the wagon and hurried over to watch the fun. Their crossbows were pointing at the ground and they had forgotten Jalia was a threat. She was simply a fool, waiting to be taken.

Swift turned and snorted, apparently annoyed by Jalia’s elbow and Crun had to walk around the horse so he stood on the far side. Because Swift was a big horse, Jalia’s arm was disadvantageously high for her to arm wrestle, angled up instead of down. Crun wasn’t the sort of man who would point that out to a competitor though.

As he got within a couple of feet of Swift, Jalia, unbuttoned her tunic with her left hand, and pulled it open revealing her breasts. “So you can see what you are never going to feel.”

Crun lost his common sense in his eagerness and stabbed his elbow down on Swift’s back.

Swift kicked sideways with all the force that an extremely well trained horse can muster, his hoof catching Crun in the midriff and driving him to the ground.

The two henchmen burst out laughing at the sight of the boss curled up and rolling in the dirt. They were still laughing as Jalia’s sword stabbed one in the groin, just below the level of his chain mail, while the other one found Jalia’s left hand had sprouted a knife, which was equally effective in a swift slicing cut level with his belly button.

As one fell to the ground, the other clutched at the entrails. He looked at Jalia in horror before the light in his eyes faded and he fell dead at her feet.

Jalia turned to see Crun stagger to his feet. He was having some trouble seeing because dust had got into his eyes. He rubbed them clear and stared in astonishment at his dead friends.

“I’ve decided against the arm wrestling,” Jalia said brightly, “A sword fight is much more fun, don’t you think?”

Crun pulled his sword clumsily from his scabbard and swung wildly at Jalia. There were cheers from the cage as Jalia stepped sideways in a dancing movement and swung her sword at Crun’s bottom knocking him onto the ground. The people in the cage felt hopeless when they saw Jalia offer to arm wrestle their captor, but seeing the two slavers dead at her feet had cheered them up no end. They chanted, “Gally, Gally!” as loudly as they could.

“If I end up giving that bitch a reputation as a hero, I’ll never forgive myself,” Jalia muttered at the chanting. It occurred to her that using Gally’s name wasn’t turning out that well, but it had been the first name to jump into her mind.

BOOK: Jalia and the Slavers (Jalia - World of Jalon)
10.09Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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