The Troven (Kingdom of Denall Book 1) (22 page)

“I’ve only once heard a rumor of this happening before,” Razer answered, “but it seems that when Garin died, you got his gift. Perhaps there was a special connection between you as brothers.”

“He was so much more than my brother,” Farin said, letting the tip of the sword drop to the dirt. “Garin was my twin, and my best friend. Did you know that he was the one who told us to save you?” Then, with emotion filling his voice he continued. “He has a girl and a dream, his life is all planned out. He didn’t even need to have a Troven, he already knew who he was and what he wanted to do. He's the good one. I should have died -- not him.” Farin sat down on the ground, clearly overcome at last by the demands of the day, and hid his face in his hands.

Odon sat down next to Farin. “It sounds like your brother was a wonderful man.” After a few moments of silence Odon continued. “I have found that when some people survive and others do not, it is not always the best people who stay here. It seems to me that the people who stay here still have work to do and things to learn.” With that Odon patted Farin on the shoulder.

Farin stood up and glared at Odon. “What am I supposed to learn?”

Odon nodded his head once as he also stood on his feet, “I can’t answer that for you, but I can tell you something.”

“What’s that?” Farin asked, looking up to the older man.

“Garin left you a very special gift to help you along the way,” he said as he touched Farin’s left ear.

* * * * *

With Farin finally settled for some rest, and Bendar back at the medical tent, Kaz wandered about the camp for a few minutes, wondering what he could do to keep himself distracted. He borrowed a shovel from one of the caravan members and made his way across the camp to help the travelers dig a common grave for the bodies of the assailants. When he got to the edge of the camp where they were digging, one man looked up to him and shook his head.

“You really don’t need to do anything,” he began as he wiped sweat off his forehead. “You’ve helped us so much today.” He climbed out of the hole in the ground and held out his hand. “My name is Strazar, but most people around here just call me String.”

Kaz took his hand and shook it. “String. It’s nice to meet you. I really could use something to keep me busy. If I could help a little, I’d really appreciate the distraction.”

String looked in the hole, then back out. “I think this is almost done, and it’s pretty crowded in there, if you really want to do something, you can help Vernand over there with the bodies.”

Kaz paled slightly, and String jumped in, “Never mind, you don’t need to help there. Really, we’re fine, just go sit by a fire. We’ll be starting to prepare supper in not too long. My wagon is the one over there painted white. It actually looks almost gray now,” he said half to himself. “Anyway, you’re welcome to join our fire for supper.”

Kaz looked over at the white wagon and considered taking String up on his offer, but the idea of just sitting around didn’t sound too appealing.

“I’ll go see if Vernand needs a hand,” Kaz offered. “It was nice to meet you.”

Kaz picked up the borrowed shovel and made his way to Vernand. The group of people with Vernand were stripping the corpses of anything valuable, and then the bodies were dragged and piled next to the common grave. The weapons and armor were placed in a pile to be traded. The horses were turned out to graze.

“Hi,” Kaz said to the man who seemed like he was in charge. “Where can I help?”

Before he looked up from his work Vernand pointed over his shoulder, “Just go over there and pick a body. We have half a dozen left to clean.”

“Okay,” Kaz responded. He went to the pile of bodies. This wasn’t how he had expected to occupy himself, but he was determined to make himself useful. He looked at the bodies, noticing that most of the bandits had been level one and two strongarms. The body that caught Kaz's attention was a level three with larger arms than most. Kaz was not interested in the marks on the man's arm but the familiar dram tooth that hung from his arm guard. Kaz recognized him as one of the men from the coach that had assaulted and robbed them just before they reached Hillside; he was the one who had searched Garin. Kaz took the dram necklace off the thief and put it in his pocket.
I think Farin will be happy to have this.
Kaz pulled off the man’s thick leather coat and skull cap and put them in a pile of armor. Then he began removing the thief's hard leather leggings when he noticed a small lump in the ankle of his pants.

The bandit had a hidden pocket that was completely covered by his boots and leggings. The man was a thief among thieves; he had this safe place to hide some small, valuable trinket. Wondering what this treasure might be, Kaz lifted the man's pant leg and found something unexpected: the necklace he had received from Gran. Garin had said that it looked expensive, this thief must have shared that feeling. Placing the necklace carefully into his pocket, he thought out loud.

“I guess Gran was right, that thing really is trying to find me.”

Kaz continued to help with the work for almost an hour until everything of value had been removed from the bandits, the bodies had all been laid in the common grave, and the sun began to set. The fires around the caravan’s campsite were lit and people started to gather with their families. Kaz surveyed the scene with amazement, almost not recognizing it as the campsite they had first been led into following the skirmish.  Everything had been cleaned up, and even Odon’s burned out wagon had already been completely dismantled, and work on a new one had begun using the reclaimed parts.

Chapter 20

On their way to join a growing group of caravan members at the fire near Haylan’s wagon, the three friends were preparing to eat their first warm, full meal since leaving Hillside. Despite the emotions of the day, they were all very much looking forward to it. Razer had fitted Farin with a wrapping to cover his ears while he adjusted to his newly elevated gift.

Farin pulled the material back to show Bendar his left ear.

“Take a close look,” he offered to his friend, who had only joined them in the last half hour, and still had not heard about Farin’s new markings.

Bendar leaned in close and released an audible gasp, “Farin, what is this!”

“I guess it is a parting gift from Garin.”

“I have read before of a sibling absorbing the gift of a departed brother, but I thought it was a myth.  This is extraordinary!”

Kaz playfully punched Farin’s arm, “I guess that means I’ll have to let you in our exclusive level four club. When we get back to Dungan it’ll be me, you, and that strongarm fieldworker your dad hired.”

“I think I’ll decline your generous offer,” Farin said with a slight grin. It was good to see Farin smile after the day they had had.

Thinking about Garin, Kaz reached into his pocket. “That reminds me,” he pulled Garin’s dram tooth out. “I found this on one of the bandits,”

“Is this what I think it is?” Farin said, taking the tooth from Kaz.

In answer, Kaz held up Gran’s necklace. “It was definitely Garin’s dram tooth. I know because this was also on the body,” the sight of Gran’s necklace produced another gasp from Bendar. Kaz put the necklace on and tucked it under his shirt. He thought about how Garin was willing to wear the jewelry for him. It was just one of the many ways Garin showed he was a true friend. Farin was also putting the dram tooth necklace over his head. Bendar took in a sharp breath, apparently ready to ask a question when suddenly they were greeted loudly.

“Hello!” Haylan called out though they were still several yards away from his fire. “A seat for our guests of honor,” he called out as he pointed to three ladder-back chairs that were empty. “What would you like?” Haylan asked as they found their seats. “We have some beef, chicken and lamb.” Kaz looked around the fire and saw Blade, Razer, Odon and some other members of the caravan whose names he had already forgotten. They all had food and were in friendly conversation.

“I’m starving,” Kaz answered.

“Then you can start with a little of everything!” Haylan filled up a plate from the grill and brought it over to Kaz. After getting food for Bendar and Farin, he took his seat. For a while, Kaz quietly ate his food while looking around the fire. This evening was unlike anything he had ever experienced in the sheltered village where he had grown up. The people around the fire had different hair, clothing, skin color, and spoke with varied accents, but they all acted like a large family as they laughed and ate together. He loved the diversity and richness he felt in their presence. 

Kaz took a bite of beef from his plate and could barely contain his excitement. The spices on it were like nothing he had ever tasted before, and the flavors came alive as the meat practically melted in his mouth.

“This is amazing!” he called out to Haylan.

“Don’t mention it!” the friendly man replied. “Seriously, if you can stop eating long enough to tell me you liked it, then it’s not good enough.” He laughed as he threw another piece of meat on Kaz’s plate.

Kaz began devouring the food, but couldn’t fully enjoy it as he watched Farin poking at the food on his plate, not eating much. Kaz could tell his friend was hurting terribly. As he was putting his own plate down so he could move next to Farin, Odon walked around the circle of people who surrounded the fire and patted Kaz on the shoulder as he passed.

“Hello again to you, my young friend.  As you have surely seen, word of your archery skill has flown through the camp like a wild fire. One of our family has expressed a particular interest in meeting you. When he was younger he was one of the best archers I’ve ever seen.”

“He’s an archer?” Kaz asked, now more interested in meeting him.

“I thought it might be good for the two of you to get acquainted.”

Odon lifted his arm to beckon someone, and a moment later a large, level three strongarm emerged from a group on the other side of the fire. Kaz guessed he was in his fifties or sixties, and a little out of shape, but he still looked very strong. Odon stepped forward to meet him as he approached, and introduced Kaz.

“Boon, this young man is Kaz, he is the bowman from the woods.”

“That was some amazing shooting!” Boon said. “I haven't seen anything like that in years.”

“Thank you.” Was all Kaz could think to say.

“Do you think you could do that again?” Boon asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Shoot like that, you know targets that far away.”

“Targets are not a problem,” Kaz said with a tap to his left eye. “I can hit just about anything I can see.” The response seemed to please both men and they looked at each other and nodded, though Kaz had no idea what he had said that would cause such a reaction.

“I have something that just might be for you,” Boon said as he walked over to a large parcel he had stashed beyond the ring of chairs. “Just wait here a minute.”

Kaz turned to Odon. “What's going on?”

“Just wait.”

At least this new exchange seemed to be taking Farin’s mind off of his troubles, as he interestedly watched what was happening, and slowly began to eat. After a short wait, Boon returned carrying a black re-curve bow with a quiver of black-shafted arrows.

“Take a look at this,” Boon said as he handed Kaz the bow. It was lighter than it looked, Kaz noted, as he took it from Boon. “This is a special weapon. It was a gift from years ago when I was living on Sephra Island. It’s made of the best iron ash.” As Boon said this he looked to Kaz expectantly.

“It's really curvy,” Kaz responded, not sure what else to say. The bow looked interesting, and different, but he wasn’t sure what might be so special about it that would get these two grown men so excited.

“It's the best kind of bow in the world.” Boon said in a slightly miffed sort of way. “It can shoot…” Boon turned to Odon as if to ask if he was wasting his time.

Bendar leaned over to Kaz and whispered, “You should really act a bit more impressed. Any foreign made weapon of rare materials has a chance of being… special!”

“Kaz, if you’ve had enough food for a moment, why don’t you step over here and give that bow a try for a moment,” Odon suggested genially. Several people from the gathering at Haylan’s wagon were now watching them with interest.

“Give it a try,” Odon said to Kaz when he had joined him a few paces away. “Pick any target you can see.”

Kaz tested the tension of the bow. It was strong, but he was used to pulling a full-sized longbow, so he felt that this would never match that range. He smoothly drew one of two dark feathered arrows from the quiver when Boon jumped forward.

“Wait!” Boon said. “Only use the white feathered arrows, the black feathers will be a little unpredictable.”

“Are they magic?” Kaz asked expectantly.

“Yes, but we don't know what they do, so only use them in a case of extreme emergency. In fact, let me take those back,” Boon said as he pulled the second shaft from the quiver. “Better safe than sorry.”

Kaz drew a white feathered arrow, glanced around in the waning twilight for a good target, and then aimed for a damaged wagon wheel about fifty paces away that was leaning against a rock. He released the bowstring and the arrow flew several feet above the wheel.

“That was amazing!”

“But you completely missed,” Odon said, somewhat confused. Now it was Kaz and Boon who shared a knowing look.

Kaz drew a second arrow and took careful aim, this time directly at the wheel, giving no compensation for arrow drop. He released, and the arrow struck a half-hand below his intended mark. “How can this be?” Kaz asked as he turned to Boon.

“Not now, son. Try something farther away. How about that tree?” Kaz gasped as he saw how far Boon was pointing. The distance was easily fifty paces farther than his longbow could shoot.

“I don't think it will go that far,” Kaz said

“Just give it a try,” Boon replied.

Kaz drew the bow full length and aimed far above his desired target.

“A little lower or we'll never get that arrow back,” Boon directed.

Skeptically Kaz lowered his aim a few degrees.

“Little lower,” Boon repeated.

Kaz lowered the bow while looking at Boon.

“That ought to do it.”

At this point Kaz was aiming no higher than the top of the tree to make a five hundred yard shot. Sure that the arrow would hit the ground, Kaz felt for a lull in the wind and released. As though by magic, the arrow flew in an almost flat arc and hit the base of the tree.

“Good shot!” Boon said while clapping. “Did it hit the tree?”

Kaz, initially surprised that Boon couldn’t see for himself, and then mildly more surprised as he realized how far he was seeing in the near dark to give the answer, responded, “Just at the base of the stump, a little off to the right.”

There was some excited murmuring from the crowd of onlookers who had now abandoned other conversations entirely, and were gathering to watch Kaz shoot.

“I think you finally found someone worthy of that bow,” Odon laughed as he patted Boon on the back. “Boon has been auditioning archers all across Denall since he found that thing,” he said to Kaz, though loudly enough to keep the crowd informed.

“Is it magic?” Kaz asked.

“Sure is,” Boon said with a shrug. “But I'm not sure of its full enchantment. This much I do know, when I pull it back it always outshoots me and I've never hit a single target.”

“It would take some practice to be perfect with it,” Kaz noted, “but this is amazing.”

Boon clapped Kaz on the shoulder. “I’m willing to let you practice with it if you’re willing to take some training. If you really can master that bow, it will be yours.”

Kaz didn’t know what to say. He looked at the bow in amazement, reverently rubbing the beautiful iron ash.  He handed it back to Boon when he extended his hand for it, and then returned to sit with his friends. After returning the bow to its case, Boon also joined the boys at the fire side. He reached out to Bendar.

“So you are another of our heroes? It’s wonderful to meet you,” Boon patted him gently on his good shoulder. “And Farin, I am so sorry for your loss,” he spoke reverently, “If you ever need anything, you come and find me,” he pointed at a bright yellow wagon not far from where they all sat.

“Thanks,” Farin responded. “Actually, I’m a bit tired.”

“Oh, of course,” Boon said, standing quickly and extending a hand to help Farin to his feet. He tapped his head as though it was something he had forgotten.

“Thanks,” Farin said. He put the plate down with some food still on it, then he left the light of the fire and retired to the tent that had been provided for him and his friends.

When Farin had retired, Boon pointed at Kaz’s plate. “You’d better eat up or you might hurt Haylan’s feelings.”

“Haylan told me that some of the wagons are painted a color that helps to show what their trade is.” Kaz began as he watched Farin walk away, rubbing his face. “What is it that you do? Catch sunlight in bottles?”

“He is a bit of a free spirit, this one,” Odon said as he circled back to their group. “He collects things he finds interesting, then trades them for other stuff. When he opens his wagon for business it’s a mystery what he’ll have.”

“And this is why I have the most interesting things to sell from the whole caravan!” Boon declared enthusiastically. He and Odon continued on with some spirited bantering about the nature of Boon’s trade choices. Half listening with amusement, Kaz sat silently eating the delicious food and wondering what their adventure would bring next.
Would they continue on? Would Farin go back and tell his parents what happened? Was there a doctor in a nearby city who could help with Bendar’s arm?
There were so many questions, and Kaz hadn’t even begun to think about what he wanted for himself. But for this moment, sitting watching the caravan members in their ‘family’ made him think of Gran. He tapped his shirt and felt Gran’s necklace against his skin. It was the only thing he had from home, and now it seemed to bring him some comfort. He pulled the necklace off his neck and held it out to look at it by the light of the fire.

Boon reached out and grabbed the necklace from Kaz unexpectedly. He held it close to his chest and looked around the fire to see if anyone else had noticed it, then he whispered quietly to Kaz. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

“Yes, I do,” Kaz said, curious as to why Boon was acting so strangely. “It's a piece of woman's jewelry that has found its way back to me again.” For Kaz the necklace was now not only a gift from Gran, but also a memory of Garin, and he felt odd having it taken away from him. “Can I have it back please?”

“Yes, certainly,” Boon said quickly, handing it back to Kaz. “I’d keep it to yourself if I were you. You do remember that the bandits came looking for a magical stone, right?” Kaz nodded. “If you start flashing that thing around, it could mean trouble.”