“Trust me,” Mansel said playfully, a bit of his old sense of humor returning. “When have I ever let drink get the best of me?” Zollin didn’t answer-he just shook his head.
A few minutes later they were climbing down the side of the ship on a rope ladder. The captain had made getting Zollin off his ship the first priority once they weighed anchor. Zollin looked up from the little boat that was rowing them to shore and saw Lady Roleena staring out her window at him. The ship’s healer had fashioned her a set of crutches and she had been able to get around rather well with them, but she had not given up her intense hatred of Zollin.
The boat wound through the other ships in the harbor and came to the dock quickly enough. Zollin and Eustice went to find the city’s stables. Falxis was known for breeding fine horses, and Zollin didn’t expect to have any trouble getting good mounts. He had broken the gold into small pieces and flattened them out like coins. There was no official coinage in the Five Kingdoms, although some monarchs had stamped their likenesses onto coins. Zollin didn’t bother trying to recreate an image on the coins. He had found that pure gold was ample enough without embellishment. He’d given Mansel the last of his silver marks to buy drinks with. A silver mark was usually more than enough to keep one man eating and drinking throughout the night at any inn, but covering the tabs of other drinkers would require more coin.
Zollin and Eustice found the stables. There were several on the outskirts of the city. They were tired and dusty by the time they made the long walk through the busy streets of Lixon Bay. They had passed the large market, but decided to wait until they had horses to load their provisions on before they did their shopping. It took Zollin an hour to inspect the horses. He bought eight horses-two for each rider and two for their provisions. With two horses for each rider, they should be able to ride all through the day and into the night without having to stop and rest their mounts very often, and certainly without having to walk them. It would still be slower than traveling by sea, but they had no other options.
Zollin took the two packhorses back to the market, while Eustice stayed with the other horses at the stable. Zollin’s first priority was to get saddles for the six horses. It was expensive, but he didn’t want to waste time saddling and unsaddling their horses throughout the day. With each horse ready to ride, they could stop, stretch, and then remount their fresh horse. He bought bridles and saddlebags for each horse. He was forced to go to three saddler’s shops before he had enough tack for all of their mounts. He paid extra to have the gear delivered to Eustice at the stable yard.
Then he went to the actual market, where venders were hocking their wares. It reminded Zollin of the harvest festival in Tranaugh Shire. There were brightly colored booths and merchants selling everything from weapons to jewelry. He bought dried fish and smoked fish, a large sack of black-crusted bread, a cask of butter, vegetables, and a cask of salted pork. Most of the rations were made for sea travel, but he packed the horses well enough. He bought blankets, large cloaks with hoods, and some wine. He was just about to leave the market when he saw a booth with a wide assortment of objects. One caught Zollin’s attention-it looked like a polished stone, perhaps volcanic rock. It was strangely shaped and not set in any kind of holder. It was just laid out among some rather plain looking jewelry.
Zollin picked the piece up, examining it. It felt like it was almost vibrating in his hand, as if it gave off a sense of magical power. He looked at the merchant, who was an old man with a deeply lined face.
“What is this?” he asked.
“It’s a Veppra stone,” the merchant said. “They used to be valued for warding off evil, but they aren’t in style much anymore.”
“A Veppra stone,” Zollin said, trying the word out. It made him wish Kelvich were with him. The old sorcerer would have known what it was. The ache of his mentor’s death was acute at the moment and Zollin had to shake himself to keep from sinking into sadness for his old friend.
“How much do you want for it?” he asked.
“They’re quite rare,” the merchant said. He seemed to come to life once the haggling began. “I couldn’t take less than five silver marks for it.”
“Five?” Zollin asked. He wanted to laugh. He knew the stone wasn’t worth more than one silver coin to most people, but the stone’s magical properties made it much more valuable.
“Would you take a gold crown? It’s all I’ve got left.”
“A gold crown?” The merchant looked stunned.
Zollin flipped him the coin and walked away. He examined the stone as he made his way back through the city toward the stables. It was about the size of a large walnut, and Zollin already knew what he was going to do with it.
When he returned to the stables the sun was beginning to set. Mansel was with Eustice and they had the horses saddled and ready to leave. Zollin was tired, but he climbed into the saddle without complaint.
“Give me your sword,” he told Mansel.
The big warrior handed it over without complaint. It had been fashioned from an old anchor that Mansel had found on board the Northern Star. The anchor had somehow broken almost completely in half, so the crew had stopped using it. Zollin had used his magic to transform the rusty metal into a rugged sword for his friend. He place his hand over the crosspiece where the hand guard and hilt met. He let his magic flow into the metal, softening it and then pressing out a section. Then he placed the Veppra stone into the hole and made the steel flow around it. He left a small opening about the size of a coin where the Veppra stone could be seen, but the irregular edges of the stone were covered by the steel. The sense of magical strength could now be felt in the sword, although Zollin wasn’t sure what the stone really did or if Mansel would even be able to notice the power the stone gave his weapon.
“There,” he said, handing the sword back to Mansel.
“What did you do?” he asked, looking at the sword’s new addition.
“Just a little decoration, that’s all.”
“I’ve never known you to care about appearances,” Mansel said.
“Well, the sword just needed a little something to make it complete,” Zollin said. “Now what did you find out on your reconnaissance mission?”
“You mean my drinking excursion? Come on, Zollin, you can’t be a famous adventurer unless you get the lingo right.”
“Well?” Zollin asked, ignoring Mansel’s joke.
“Okay, well, you were right. Both armies landed here. Apparently, rumor has it that King Belphan didn’t survive the invasion.”
“Really?” Zollin said in surprise.
“Lots of different rumors about what exactly happened, but most of them have to do with your friend from the Torr killing Belphan. But that’s not the best part. Apparently all the generals from the Oslan forces died too. It seems that King Zorlan has some ambition after all. He’s taken control of both armies and is claiming stewardship of the Oslan throne.”
“So he wants to rule both kingdoms,” Zollin said. “Offendorl breaks the treaty and already we’re at each others’ throats.”
“So it would seem. But there’s more news. I asked about the witch in Lodenhime and found out she marched south with an army of her own.”
“What army?” Zollin asked.
“All of Ortis’ forces. Even the reserve troops. From what I can tell, King Oveer was suppose to march north with his army and invade Yelsia, but instead he turned south with Gwendolyn and made for Osla.”
“What do you think about that?”
“I don’t know, Zollin. I know the witch has power over men, but I wasn’t there long enough to find out her plans. She sent your father and me north the day after we arrived in Lodenhime.”
“But Prince Wilam is still with her,” Zollin said.
“I’m sure he is. She’s probably got him wrapped around her little finger. Cutting him loose from her power won’t be easy.”