Last Knight (The Champion Chronicles Book 2) (13 page)

Chapter Eleven

The streets of the Taran city of Iseron were narrow and winding.  Some of them were cobblestone, but most of them were unpaved.  Because of the steady rain, those roads were now a muddy mess.  Conner found it difficult to make his way through the city not only because of the mud, but also because there did not seem to be any order to how the streets were laid out.  South Karmon had wide streets that were mostly straight, which made it difficult to get lost.  But Iseron was an old city, having been constructed and built up over hundreds, maybe thousands of years.  There was a wide variety of building types.  Some were stone, built strong to withstand many generations.  Others were shabbily built wooden structures, some in severe disrepair.

              It was early evening as Conner walked the city looking for an inn.  Because of the steady rain, there weren’t many people in the streets.  Those that braved the cold and wet were tightly wrapped in cloaks and walked quickly without care for who else was around.  In a foreign city where he felt completely out of place, the rain made him feel anonymous and invisible.  He kept his eyes up, even though the hood of his cloak was pulled low over his head.  From side to side, he glanced about, to make sure that no one was a threat.  But the city felt lifeless and asleep.

              Most of the buildings had signs hung above their doors.  But unfortunately, they were written in a language that he could not read.  He was relegated to looking through windows or opening doors to peek inside to see what the business was.  After about the tenth window that he looked through, he finally found what appeared to be a tavern.  But even before he saw a room full of patrons drinking the chill away, he knew it was what he was looking for.  The boisterous sounds of the revelry reached his ears from the street.

As he approached the front door, two dirty men stumbled through and fell into the mud face first.  They rolled over and sat up, laughing.  As they tried to stand up, they tripped over one another and then the laughing exploded into hysterics.  As he looked back at them from the doorway, a figure from across the street caught his attention.  His instincts told him that he was out of place, but he did know why.  He was dressed as everyone else, a dark cloak wrapped tightly around him.  But rather than walking quickly through the rain, he was standing still, huddled in the shadows of an awning.  Conner turned quickly away, trying to appear as if he had not seen the man.  But when he glanced back again, the figure was gone.

For a moment he thought that maybe it was the Royal Guard coming after him.  But he knew that those were just crazy thoughts.  No one would have been able to follow him here.  After leaving the bandits, he had been extremely careful to cover his tracks.  He had double-backed on his trail several times to see if anyone had been following him, but he had seen no one.  He figured it was just his tired mind playing tricks.

He turned back to the tavern and pushed through the door.

The heat from the main room struck him like a fist from a squire during training.  He let the door close behind him and just stood in the doorway, wondering what to do next.  The room was filled with drinking, shouting, and laughing patrons.  Long tables stretched the length of the room and they were filled elbow to elbow.  A fire in the fireplace at the far end of the room blazed high.  A spitted animal of some sort was turning over the fire, the juices from the meat tingling his hunger.

He found an empty seat and a mug of ale was sat down in front of him.  The barmaid said something to him, but she was speaking Taran.  He shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Food?” she asked again, this time so he could understand her.

“Yes,” Conner replied.  “You speak Karmon?”

She gave him a quizzical look.  “What?  Commoner, you mean?  One penny for food.” 

Conner reached into his cloak and found the small bag that he had taken from one of the bandits.  He still felt some guilt about taking the money, but he also knew that they wouldn’t ever need to use it again.  He pulled out a small handful of coins and showed them to the barmaid.  She just shook her head and took one of the rougher looking copper colored coins.

The barmaid left and Conner turned back to his mug of ale.  He took a sip and forced the bitter liquid down.  A few minutes later a plate of bread and meat strips was tossed in front of him.  His stomach gurgled in hunger and he dove at the food.

“You must be hungry.”

The words startled Conner and he jumped, spilling his mug of ale.  The man who spoke quickly grabbed the mug and carefully set it back down.

Conner looked the man over.  He was a thin man with sharp facial features.  He looked Taran, but spoke nearly flawless Karmon.  “Yes,” Conner said.  “Who are you?”

“I am the man who will either have you killed, or who will save your life.”

Conner’s hand went instinctively towards the hunting knife in his belt.  Even if he had a better weapon such as a long sword, it was too tight for sword combat.  But a hand from the stranger stopped him.

“I don’t think so,” the man said.  “That would not be a good idea.”

“Who are you?” Conner asked sharply.  His eyes scanned the room, but all he saw were drinking patrons.  No one, even those nearby, seemed to have noticed either one of them.

“My name is Hibold.  I have been looking for you.”

A flash of fear passed over him.  “Why?”

              “I represent a party that is interested in you.”

              “Me?” Conner asked.  “Why me?”

              “Your exploits have drawn the interest of someone of high stature.  He sent me here to find you and bring you back to see him.”

              Conner did not speak for several moments while the man’s words sunk in.  “Exploits?”

              “Yes, you know, the thing that you did back at the castle in South Karmon.”

              Again, Conner glanced around, expecting a troop of Royal Guardsman to come rushing in to arrest him.

              The man smiled at Conner’s nervousness.  “Do not worry, there is no one here that cares about you.  Except for me, of course.”

              “What do you know about South Karmon?”

              “You are called the King Slayer.  Did you know that?”

              “I didn’t…”

              “You did,” Hibold said.  Then his eyes narrowed.  “Do not lie to me.  I know all about you.  Do not pretend that you did not kill that stupid fat man.  Neffenmark was a toad.  No, toads are too good for him.  There are no words that could describe what he is.”

              “What do you want from me?” Conner asked.

              “It is not me that wants you, it is an interested party.  I cannot tell you who it is, but be assured, he is of high importance in the empire.”

              “I don’t know,” Conner said.  He glanced around the room again.  Nothing seemed out of order.  No one was watching him that he could tell.  They were all alone in a sea of loud chaos.  “I am looking for a friend.”

              “Where is he?” Hibold asked.

              “Tara City.”

              Hibold slapped the table.  “Well, that works out because that is where we are headed!  Finish your meal and then we will get started.”

              Conner let out a yawn.  “I’ve been on the move for several days.  I was hoping to bed down under a roof tonight.”

              Hibold stroked his chin for a moment.  “Very well.  I am bedded in an inn on the other side of town.  It is a large room with a warm fireplace.  I will even give you the bed for the night.  But we must leave at first light.”

              “Fair enough,” Conner said.  He looked closer at Hibold and asked.  “Was that you watching me?  In the rain across the street?”

              A wide smile came across his face.  “Indeed, you are observant.  I have been waiting for you for some days and I watched everyone who came into the city from the north.  You were quite easy to spot, as a matter of fact.”

              “Oh,” Conner replied.  He had really tried to not be obvious, but clearly he was not as careful as he thought he was.  “How did you know I was coming?”

              “You are famished,” Hibold replied without answering the question.  “Finish your food and we will talk more on the ride to Tara City.  It is a bit of a ride, so we will have plenty of time to talk.”

              It did not take Conner much longer to finish off his meal.  With his mouth still full with his last bite, Hibold led Conner out of the tavern.  But he didn’t go through the front door.  They went through a back door next to the kitchens.  It was hidden in the shadows and until Conner was right next to the door, he did not even know one was there.  Hibold opened the door and let Conner go through.

              The sound of swords leaving scabbards froze Conner.  He was surrounded by ten centurions, each with their swords drawn and readied.  Hibold raised a hand and they all lowered their weapons.  But they did not sheath them.

              One of the centurions stepped forward.  He was the only one clad in chainmail.  The tall centurion had sharp eyes and looked Conner up and down.

              “I thought you said we were getting a Karmon Knight.  This is but a skinny boy!”

              “Hey!” Conner shouted.  He took a step forward, as did the centurion.

              “Farrus!” Hibold shouted.  “He is who we are looking for.”

              “He is no knight,” Farrus growled.

              “I never said he was.  It was you who insisted that it was one.”

              To Conner, he asked, “Was it you that killed those bandits.”

              “Yes,” Conner replied firmly.

              Farrus grabbed Conner’s hand and turned it over.  Then he reached up and squeezed his upper arm.  “Strong and wiry, I’ll give you that.  But killing all those bandits by yourself?” He let out a snort.  “I don’t think so.”

              “It was me,” Conner said firmly.

              “We tracked the killer for some distance and lost him heading back north.  If it was you, how would it be that your trail went north?”

              “How about you hand me one of those swords, and I’ll prove it to you.”

              Farrus sheathed his sword.  “I don’t know what you are, but you are no knight.  The Karmon Knights I heard of would never be so eager to kill.  Bind him, and let’s get moving.”

              Conner took a step back, drawing his hunting knife.

              Hibold stepped forward.  “Enough of this!  Conner is my guest and not a prisoner, and he will be treated accordingly.”

              “Sir Conner,” Conner said firmly, staring down Farrus.

              Hibold almost laughed, but he held it in.  He put a hand on Conner’s arm and said, “It is okay.  They are simply soldiers following orders.  They know little else.  You are my guest, and that means a guest of the empire.  You will not be treated as a prisoner, as long as you agree to come willingly.”

              “And if I refuse?” Conner asked, still holding the hunting knife.

              “I’m afraid I would not be able to help you, then.  And I would be forced to ask Sergeant Farrus for assistance in bringing you to Tara City.  Failure to follow orders of my superior would not go well for me.  Or for you.  I would suggest that you come.  No harm will come to you at all.  I can guarantee you that.  It is just that your story has reached the ears of someone important, and he simply wishes to meet with you.”

              Conner let his arm drop and tucked his knife back in his trousers.  “Very well.”

              Hibold smiled.  “We will rest for the night in my inn, and then get moving in the morning.”

              Farrus motioned for his men to sheath their swords and they let Hibold and Conner pass.

              “Meet us on the road to Tara City at first light,” Hibold added.

              “If you are not there, it will not go well for you,” Farrus growled.

              Hibold smiled and said nothing else.  There was much more he wanted to say to the centurion, but nothing that would be productive.  Soldiers were good for one thing, and that was killing.  Giving them any other task was just too much for them.  Sometimes he was grateful for their skill on the battlefield, but this was not one of them.  He needed Conner to trust him and the show of force that Farrus tried was not going to gain that trust.

              But Conner followed without asking any more questions.  He was wary of going with Hibold, but he was being taken to the place he really wanted to go.  Master Goshin would be in Tara City, and it might even be easier to find him if he were with people that knew the city.  Plus, having an escort would also keep him from having to deal with bandits again.

He touched his chest just as a reminder of what the bandits did to him.  He was glad that they were dead.  There was not even a hint of guilt that he felt.  They got what they deserved and he was happy that he was able to avenge his friends.  Although he had only known Laurin and Steven for a very short time, the kindness that they showed him was something that he would never forget.