The Merchant and the Menace (35 page)

They splashed through a rock strewn, shallow stream
and Tepi shouted for a halt. Kael turned to see the trader throw his hands up
in frustration. Manfir reined in his stallion and the party halted.

“Master Rin, I’m afraid I fouled a wheel,” called
Tepi.

“This fool will be the death of me,” grumbled Ader
as he shook his head.

Surprisingly, the bald headed trader heard the
Guide.

“Perhaps, if you weren’t in such a rush to get
yourself killed in battle, I wouldn’t have run pell-mell into these rocks, old
man. Haste makes waste,” said Tepi.

“Perhaps, if you drove with both eyes on the road,
instead of on the Keltaran, you would have missed such hazards,” snapped Ader.

“I don’t delude myself as to who my enemies are,”
growled Tepi.

Kael edged back toward the stream and saw Tepi’s
right front wheel splintered between two of its wooden spokes. The wood
appeared rotten and worn. Granu strode up to the group.

“What’s wrong? That nag drinks more than a battalion
of Keltar warriors,” said Granu

The giant knelt near the wheel and inspected the
break.

“Hold your tongue Keltaran, and keep your paws off
of my cart,” snapped Tepi.

The trader showed surprising agility as he jumped
from the seat of the cart into the stream with a splash. Water sprayed into the
Keltaran’s face. Granu wiped himself clean with the sleeve of his robe and
calmly backed away from the cart.

“As you wish, Master Tepi,” he said.

Manfir rode back to the stream and shook his head.

“That wheel won’t hold for another league,” said Manfir.
“And I’m sure you don’t keep a replacement handy.”

“It takes room away from my goods,” whined Tepi.

Manfir looked about the landscape and spied a tall,
lonely elm.

“Perhaps we’ll be able to mend it quickly and get
back on the road. The elm should provide some timber,” said Manfir.

Flair was already on the move. The boy galloped to
the tree and dismounted. He tied his horse to the nearest thicket and produced
a hatchet from a bag on the horse’s side. Tepi stared at the wheel and shook
his head.

“Master Tepi. Get that cart over to the tree. We
must prop it up and remove that wheel,” commanded Manfir.

The trader snapped out of his brooding and glared
at the Zodrian prince. He slowly climbed back into the cart and coaxed the old
nag over the rocky surface to the tree. Kael unhitched the nag. Tepi leapt down
as Manfir used his sword to gouge a hole in the ground near the wheel of the
cart. Flair cut a sturdy thick post about a yard long. The boy came over to the
cart and stood ready with the post.

Manfir grabbed an edge of the cart next to broken
wheel and heaved upward. He strained on its weight and it slowly rose. The cart
hovered over the ground for a moment and Flair fixed one end of the post in the
hole. Flair tried to wedge the other end under the cart to keep it propped in
the air. However, Manfir did not lift the cart high enough. The prince glanced
over his shoulder at the group standing behind him. Granu mumbled something and
threw back his hood. The fading sun shown on his scarred head as he stepped
forward and threw a shoulder into the cart. Immediately, it rose high in the
air and Flair slid the top end of the post beneath. The two men let the cart
settle onto the post and stepped away.

“How long, Master Flair?” puffed Manfir.

“Two hours for a proper job,” replied Flair.

“How long for a repair that will get him to the
next village?” asked Manfir.

“Less than half that time,” said Flair.

“As quickly as you can,” said Manfir patting the
boy on the back. “The rest of us might as well take a break.”

Flair worked diligently on the cart’s restoration.
Kael had never watched a wheel repaired so he stayed and helped the young man
with any requirements. In Kelky, they brought their damaged carts and wagons to
Jemer the blacksmith. Often, small towns employed men like Jemer, who wore more
than one hat out of necessity. Blacksmith, wheelwright, carpenter, mason, Jemer
did it all.

Flair lived on his grandfather’s ranch. The ranches
were normally self-sufficient and young men like Flair were taught any number
of skills. Kael was certain Flair performed all kinds of tasks on request.

After an hour, Flair sufficiently restored the
wheel. Manfir inspected the work and was quite satisfied. Flair cut strips of
green wood from the elm and bent them inside the wheel frame, supporting it
from the inside out. It was lucky that the wood was fresh and pliant. The group
gathered up and once more made its way north.

Manfir attempted to increase the pace, but Tepi
lagged. The sweaty trader complained and worried his wheel might collapse. The
temporary repairs created a hitch in the wagon’s turn. Every time the wheel
reached the affected area, the cart jumped and rattled. Tepi grumbled about his
aching back. Kael grew annoyed.

 “Why don’t we go on and just leave him to his
business?” whispered Kael to Teeg.

“Courtesy, my boy,” answered Teeg. “When you’re out
on the open road, you try to help others. We offered him our companionship and
he accepted. To leave him now is quite a breach of good faith.”

“But he’s in no danger,” replied Kael. “Those
repairs will last all the way to the Northern Wastes, if he were inclined to
drive there. He simply slows us down.”

“I know you’re anxious to see your father, but
whether this Tepi is an ass or not, we promised to travel with him,” said Teeg.
“We will not be with him long.”

The sun crawled down to the horizon and Manfir’s
expression became grave.

“We ‘ll not make Ymril today. The journey requires
several more hours and unfortunately the sun is setting. The moon will be
hidden by clouds tonight, creating a dark evening. I don’t wish to tempt the
fates and make a horse lame while stumbling through this darkness. Delays cost
us a warm bed and a hot meal,” frowned Manfir. “We’ll pull off the road ahead
and make camp once more.”

They traveled for several more leagues and found
another brook spilling through the countryside not far from the road. Manfir
led the group to a clearing near a wide field of tall, wild grasses.

“We find both water and food here for our mounts.
There is less protection for us from the elements and anything else, but I don’t
think we’ll find any better,” said Manfir.

“Agreed,” said Teeg. “The land is similar to this
all the way to Ymril. We will find no better.”

The group pulled into the clearing and set up camp.
Flair and Kael quickly built a fire and the young cattleman stewed some meat
within minutes. Eidyn and Teeg cared for the horses. Ader walked to the far
side of the clearing and surveyed the horizon as the sun passed beneath it.
Tepi parked his cart awkwardly in the middle of the clearing. The fat trader
once again agilely leapt from its seat with a blanket in hand. He stomped
toward the fire and looked into the pot in which Flair prepared the meal.

“Call me when it’s ready,” demanded Tepi.

He walked to his cart and ducked underneath it,
curling into a ball under the blanket. Within minutes the sound of his loud
snoring filled the campsite. Granu took several water flasks from the saddles
of the horses and disappeared into the tall grass in the direction of the
brook. Manfir pulled some maps from his saddle and studied their contents near
the fire. The sun set and the light from the fire danced inside the darkness
surrounding their little enclave.

Kael and Flair sat near the fire and talked about
their day as they prepared the meal. Kael looked toward Ader and saw the old
man standing near the tall grasses. The field grew so high it nearly reached
the old trader’s head. Ader stood gazing into the distance softly humming to
himself. Kael felt the uneasy sensation he shared with Eidyn earlier in the
journey. He suspected that he was being watched. Kael stood and tried to survey
the grassland about him. The darkness was impenetrable. A light breeze played
off the grasses and the light of the fire touched their golden stalks.

Kael approached the old man and Ader stopped
humming. He turned to the boy.

“Is the meal prepared yet?” smiled Ader as he swept
past Kael.

“Uh, it will be shortly,” replied Kael.

He stood watching as Ader ambled to the fireside
and complimented Flair on his hard work. Kael turned back to the tall grasses
and stared into their shifting wall. The uneasiness crept over him once more.
Teeg and Eidyn finished with the horses and moved to the fireside as well.
Manfir stood a few paces from Tepi’s wagon sharpening one of his daggers and
the heaving lump under the cart informed Kael that Tepi continued his slumber.
The boy quietly approached the swaying wall of grass and slipped inside.

Immediately he was plunged into darkness. The soft
seed stalks of the wild grasses brushed one another just over his head. He
still sensed someone or something just beyond his sight. Kael slowly picked his
way through the field. He tried to create as minimal a disturbance as possible.

 He heard a small noise to his left. Was it a light
laugh? What was out here? He moved in its direction. Once again he heard a
small noise in front of him. He picked his way through the field. Here and
there Kael passed small scrub trees that spread their branches several feet
above the deep pasture. The field thinned under these trees, creating small,
empty pockets in the sea of grass. The spreading trees stood like dark islands
rising above the waves.

The wind whipped. The stalks ahead parted for an
instant. Was that a small figure darting ahead of him?

“Hey! You! Stop!” ordered Kael. His call was lost
against the wind.

Kael increased his speed and worked his way left.
No one was there. He moved ten yards further and came to one of the scrub
trees. Its canopy created a void of darkness beneath. Twisted branches and a
gnarled trunk were barely visible under the canopy. Kael stopped and sat with
his back to the tree trying to concentrate on his surroundings. Perhaps he
would be able to sense movement once more. He let his heart slow and controlled
his breathing. He reached out for any sound to alert him to the figure’s
whereabouts.

“Are you afraid?” came a husky whisper from
directly behind the boy.

Kael started and shot a glance over his shoulder to
the opposite side of the trunk. A blackness, deeper and more tangible than that
created by the tree, hovered just beyond his reach. The twisted trunk of the
scrub tree obscured the figure.

“No,” lied Kael.

“It is foolish not to fear the unknown. Fear is healthy,
as long as you control it,” said the voice. “You are curious? You want to know
what shadows your group?”

“Yes,” replied Kael.

“Curiosity is also healthy, when tempered with
caution,” chided the voice. “Fools let their curiosity lure them to their
deaths. The wise man uses caution as his aid. Time reveals all.”

“What are you, foolish or wise?” asked Kael in
return.

Kael heard a rustling and noted movement inside the
blackness. It fell away like a curtain and Kael looked into the visage of Granu
Stormbreaker staring at him from behind the gnarled branches of the tree. The
Keltaran giant crouched under the tree with all but his face completely covered
by his black robes.

“I’m neither foolish nor wise, for I’m a servant of
my Creator and my path was chosen for me. If my decisions seem foolish to some,
so be it, as long as they conform to the wishes of the Master,” murmured Granu.

The duo stared at one another for a while. Finally,
Granu’s face broke into a wide grin.

“Are you afraid now?” whispered the enormous man.

“No,” lied Kael once more. 

“I don’t believe you, but that is the correct
answer,” said the giant keeping his voice low. “What are you doing out here?”

“I saw .... or maybe heard someone in the tall
grass. I tried to discover what it was,” replied Kael.

“Hmmm, interesting,” said Granu. “Did you
see
someone or did you
hear
them? Surely you know if it was one or the
other. If it was a person why did you say you tried to discover ‘it’?”

“I  ... I am not sure. I guess I heard it first and
followed it into the grass. As I followed it I thought I saw someone,” said
Kael frowning. “I might ask why you are perched under this tree?”

“A valid question,” answered Granu. “I was
returning with flagons full of water...”

The giant pulled several water skins from beneath
his robes and shook their contents.

“... when I was distracted by the sound of movement
in the underbrush. I followed its course and tried to surprise it by running
ahead and lying in wait. After several moments you skulked through the grass
and sat there opposite me,” smiled Granu.

“I didn’t skulk, I was tracking,” grumbled Kael.
“Nothing came past before me?”