The Archon's Apprentice (17 page)

This close to the border Mikol was surprised they did not encounter any traffic on the roads. They had only seen one caravan heading west. They assumed it to be a traveling merchant. Mikol and Bayle had taken a detour off the road well away from any prying eyes until they were sure it would be safe to be on the road again. It took them a day to reach the Erova. There was a bridge that led directly across the river. Mikol had never been to Sibilova before but thought it was odd they did not see any soldiers or guards preventing travelers from crossing the bridge, either way.
 

The lack of guards did not sit well in Mikol’s stomach. He could see there was a town on the other side of the bridge, on the Sibilovan side. He did not want anyone to remember him crossing in to Sibilova and decided he wanted to cross upstream away from any towns. They made their way down the side of the hill to the river itself. The ground was soft but secure enough for the horses. The Erova River was supposed to be a large river but Mikol was not impressed. Mikol soon saw evidence of the drought that was affecting the river. Looking over his shoulder towards the bridge, Mikol saw how high up the bridge sat on the hill. He could see the waterline where the river usually flowed.
 

The river valley was flat and allowed for good visibility. Because of this, Mikol pushed them upstream for two days to avoid the town. During those two days he checked the pendant constantly. Bayle asked if he should just lead Mikol’s horse while Mikol stared at the red arrow. Mikol ignored Bayle’s mockery. He needed to make sure the arrow did not suddenly change direction. Soon enough, they came to the smallest part of the river. They slowly forded the river. It took a good portion of the day for the horses to cross. Luckily, the river only came up to the horses’ chests. When his horse stepped on the far bank of the river Mikol felt his body relax.

Mikol did not know what he expected to feel when he entered Sibilova. The more they walked into Sibilova, the more relief he felt when nothing happened. They climbed the dry bank and crested the hill as the sun was setting. Mikol looked back the way they had come. He raised the spyglass. Looking toward the town he could just make it out but could see nothing specific about it. He scanned the valley below. He almost missed a small group riding along the river. This could not be a coincidence. They were riding the same path he had taken. He could not be certain, but felt it was the same group they had seen earlier on the road.

Bayle touched Mikol’s shoulder. Mikol turned to see Bayle was pointing to the other side of the valley, north of their location. Looking through the spyglass at where Bayle had indicated Mikol did not see anything. He was about to grumble at Bayle when light reflected off of something as a second group crested a small ridge in the valley. He watched for a moment before being certain they were headed towards them as well.
 

“I don’t think that first group is anyone from the Wench,” Mikol said. “I can’t imagine anyone would pursue us into Sibilova. Especially since we were only defending ourselves.”

“Depends on who it was we killed. Also depends on their point of view. Maybe it’s the fathers or brothers of those men and they think we murdered them. That might cause someone to pursue us. But I agree, going in to the Savage Kingdoms for justice seems extreme,” said Bayle. “But that second group is probably from Trokan’s group. They probably mean to cut us off, coming from the north like that. Though why they haven’t caught us by now I don’t know. We rode quickly the first few days but we slowed down.”

“Well, I don’t want to be caught by either group. Let’s continue to ride through the night. Neither group should cross the river until tomorrow and I want to be farther ahead than they think we are.”

***

The next few days they rode as fast and long as the horses could take. They slept only a few hours each night, stopping long after the sun set and breaking camp well before the sun rose. The countryside became rough and rocky and they were forced to ride on a road or chance one of the horses breaking a leg. They were tense when they passed fellow travelers on the road, ready to fight at any moment. After receiving only curious glances from passersby and nothing more, they relaxed a little. Once they were able to look at people without fear of being attacked they noticed a big difference in their clothing. Everyone they passed was wearing brightly colored clothes that reminded Mikol of many of Turos’s outfits. Their own clothing was quite brown and muted in comparison.

They passed a sign indicating a town ahead, Cobinstil. Mikol made sure the pendant indicated they should go through the town. He had been studying the pendant closely since they had crossed into Sibilova. The small arrow in the center had grown in intensity. Bayle had even commented on being able to clearly see the arrow now.
 

Mikol only knew about some of the larger cities in Sibilova, but when they entered Cobinstil he felt it was a town on the verge of becoming a city. The outer edge of the town comprised newly constructed buildings. When they rode in to the town proper, they found the roads were packed with people. They had to ride slowly through the street on their horses. It took them longer to get to the original city limits on horseback than it would have taken if they had walked. The buildings were no longer wooden structures but were made of stone and had a distinctly different style to them. The inner streets were no less crowded.

The central section of the town was walled off and the entrances barred. Mikol watched as the guards turned away everyone who wanted entrance. They skirted around the central section and continued to the eastern quarter. The streets started out the same as the western side of the city but quickly devolved into cross sections that made no sense to Mikol. None of the streets went in the same direction and, after attempting to continue eastward, Mikol had to give up and looked at the pendant.
 

There were several cries of outrage as Mikol stopped his horse in the middle of the road. Looking at the sky, Mikol could tell they were headed in east still, but the pendant was pointing northward. Bayle had been in the lead yelling at people to move out of the way and it took him a moment to notice that Mikol had stopped. He received similar outrage when he turned his horse back towards Mikol.

“Hey, what’s the hold up?”

Mikol motioned to the pendant.

“Apparently, we need to go north now.”

Bayle looked north and could see one the blades of the Dagger Peaks mountains.
 

“Maybe it’s in the mountain?”

“Probably, but at the base of the mountain is Silverhall,” said Mikol.

“Isn’t that the capital?”

“Last that I knew it was. But the capital usually changes whenever a new warlord conquers the Savage Kingdoms.”

The mention of the Savage Kingdoms brought looks of disgust from those who had heard Mikol speak. The hatred became evident as those that had overheard looked Mikol and Bayle over.
 

“Uh, first thing we need to do is get some different clothes. We stick out like a tree in the desert,” said Bayle.

There were fewer shops near the central area of town. They turned north and found the roads led them into the market district. Mikol was impressed by the varied quality of stores. They found a few clothiers but chose one of the smaller establishments that was not as busy and tied their horses outside. The inside of the shop was covered in fabrics from floor to ceiling and in every color imaginable. As they walked in a short man stepped out from behind the counter in the rear. The man’s fingers never stopped moving as he walked over to them.

“Hmm, we have something that could fit you,” said the man.

“Uh, we haven’t decided to buy anything yet,” said Mikol.

“Nonsense. Those clothes will not do. My name is Golvin. I own this shop. Fine shop it is. Best in town.” Golvin was moving quickly between Mikol and Bayle, using a piece of string to measure them and marking things down in a notebook. “Yes, yes, yes. Fine length. Won’t take long.”

“We never said we wanted clothing,” said Bayle.

Golvin stopped and look at Bayle pointedly.

“Why would you come in to my shop then? No one comes to talk. Only to buy.”
 

Golvin finished measuring them and made quick marks in his book, humming to himself. Seemingly satisfied, Golvin set the notebook down and picked up several pieces of fabric. He compared each one to Mikol and Bayle and tossed away those he did not like. Only a few ended up in a pile close to him. Mikol looked at Bayle and they both shrugged. They had come for clothing but Mikol had not expected this kind of service. Golvin cleared his throat and indicated the fabric he had arranged on his table. The colors were bright and flashy. Mikol looked over the colors and then at himself. Golvin stood smiling. He was similarly attired to everyone they had seen outside.
 

“You like? These look best for you. Can make you many, many clothes.”

“We don’t need many. Two each should do.”

Golvin frowned, shook his head, and muttered under his breath.
 

“Fine, fine.” Golvin waved his hands in the air as if surrendering. “I make clothing for you. You have money?”

Mikol took out a couple of gold pieces and held them out. Golvin shook his head.

“No, no, no. Don’t take Ternian gold. Illegal gold. Put away, put away.”

“Gold is gold,” said Bayle.

“Hmm, yes, yes. No, no. Only take Siban gold.”

“Where can we get Siban gold?”

“Don’t know. Out there.” Golvin flung his hand out to indicate anywhere but inside his shop and started to put away the cloth.

“There must be something we can do. We need it fast,” said Mikol.

Golvin started wringing his hands and licking his lips. He looked around quickly. He went to his front door and looked outside. Then he darted to his back room and came back. He motioned for them to come close. They walked up to Golvin and he motioned them to bend down and get very close. Golvin started whispering to them.

“There is man. He takes things. He gives things.” Golvin nodded to Mikol and Bayle as if they understood. “He takes gold. He gives gold. Very secret. He outside town. Come back with good gold. I make you clothes.”

“How do we find him?”

“South of town. Look for giant man. He take you to man.”

With that Golvin pushed them out of his shop and closed the door on them.

“That was odd,” said Mikol.

“Have you ever heard of these savages never taking our gold?” Bayle lowered his voice as he said savages and looked around quickly. No one seemed to have heard him.

“Never, this is new. I assume it was enacted recently with this new warlord. Do you think we really need new clothes?”

“We do still stick out like a dog at a brothel.” Bayle waved his hands at several passersby, all dressed in very ornate dress. Most of them were dressed more outlandishly than Golvin’s choices.

“Ok, I get your point. Let’s go find this giant.”

***

They rode outside of town just as the sun had begun to set. They asked a few of the townsfolk returning if they knew where they could find a giant man that would change their gold. They only received quizzical looks and rode away. They did not know how far south of town they would have to ride, so they criss-crossed the immediate area around the southern entrance.
 

“Should we go back and get a room for the night?” said Mikol.

“I don’t think they’ll take our gold either. We’ll have to set up camp again.”

“Do we even need new clothes?”

“Maybe not, but if we don’t want to be found easily by whoever is following us, it would help if we weren’t so obviously foreign.”

They found a site off the road, secluded enough they would not be seen by anyone passing by. Mikol removed his bedroll from his horse and laid it on the ground. He had a feeling that something was not right. He looked at Bayle but saw he was busy with his own bedroll. He looked around and suddenly noticed a giant man standing at the edge of their lamp light. Mikol took a step backward into a defensive stance and drew his sword. Bayle turned to see what Mikol was doing and jumped when he noticed the man. Bayle reached for his own sword when the man held up his hands, open toward them in a peaceful gesture.

“You are looking for the changer?” said the man.

Still unsure, Mikol and Bayle lowered their weapons and stood up straight.

“We are looking to get Siban gold, if that’s what you mean.”

The giant nodded.

“Bring what you want to change.”

Mikol let out a breath and sheathed his sword. Bayle followed suit. Bayle reached into his bags and withdrew a purse with their gold.
 

“Is there anything else we need to bring?” asked Mikol.

The man raised a finger to his lips and then motioned for them to follow. Not sure what to expect, they gave the giant plenty of room to lead. Mikol’s hand never left Raythrael, and he paid close attention to the countryside. They soon entered a forest and visibility departed. Bayle had brought their lamp but it did not light up much. Mikol noted the giant was always on the edge of the light no matter how fast or slow they walked.
 

“Not sure that he qualifies to be a giant,” said Bayle.

“Me either. But he is the tallest man I’ve ever seen.”

Their guide turned around and hushed them again. Mikol attempted to keep track of how long they walked but was forced to give up when he figured out the giant was taking them in a circle. By the time they did stop, Mikol was sure they were going to be ambushed. Trees covered the area well and Mikol could not see why they had stopped. The giant put up a hand indicating they were to wait. Mikol gasped as the giant turned away from them and stepped into nothing. It took a moment for Mikol to comprehend what he had just seen. Only when the giant’s face appeared in the darkness did Mikol see the outline of the cave. The giant looked at both of them to gain their attention before jerking his head towards the cave and disappeared again.