Her eye caught a glimmer of something silver. They were at the gate of Salkay, and the glimmer was the end of guard’s spear. The owner was leaning against the wall of the town talking to another guard on the other side of the entrance. The man was tall and wearing leather armor with a wooden chest plate. There was about a week’s worth of black stubble on his face that matched his hair. The man looked very friendly, like the guy everyone knew and liked-ideal for a guard.
Legon wasn’t nervous about the guards. They probably wouldn’t bother them.
“Hey there, can I help you find something here?” said the guard.
These men were paid by the town to keep order and deter robbers, but also to act as guides. They were nothing like the guards from children’s stories that always harassed people who came by and were always ready for a fight. If there was no threat there was no need. It didn’t make sense for the empire to place soldiers in every town; if you did that then your fighting force was too spread out, so each town paid people to do the job. These people would fight, but they also helped the town thrive. They knew every shop and resident, so if you needed something when you came to a town you weren’t familiar with, the guards could guide you. This was also a great way to protect a town; happy and cheery guards got people talking, and people that might be trouble often gave themselves away.
“We need to get some supplies and I need to sell some horses,” Arkin said to the guard as they approached.
“Then you’ll want to see Bear. Go to your left and you can’t miss him, and if it’s traveling supplies you’re in need of, there’s Peg’s shop next door that can help you out.”
“Thank you. Bear?” Arkin asked.
“That’s a nickname. The guy is fat and hairy and looks like, well, a bear.”
“Does he like that name?”
The man laughed heartily. “Nope, not at all, but he’ll tell you he loves it just to save face.”
“Thank you for your assistance,” Arkin said graciously.
They entered the town and started to Bear’s shop. As they went Legon noticed that unlike Salmont, Salkay was a planned city. That meant that if you wanted to build in the town you first needed to submit plans to the regent, and the building needed to meet certain guidelines. This was for several reasons. First of all, Salkay had a wall and a defensive plan, so if your building hurt that plan or affected it you might not get approved. Also, things like sanitation were taken into account.
They made their way through narrow streets. Most of the shops along this way were travel-related and there weren’t a lot of dwellings. Soon they came to a one-story building with a large fenced in an area off to the right side with horses, donkeys, and mules walking around. Attached to the building were stables.
They all dismounted and followed Arkin through a large door that horses could go through as well. The room was a hall that had stalls going up either side. At the end of the hall there was sunlight to the right, indicating the exit to the fenced-in area. A short round man with black hair and beard came out of a stall to their left, and sure enough he looked like a black bear. The image was made stronger by his soot-covered clothing that indicated he made his own horseshoes. Arkin diverted his eyes, trying not to chuckle at the accuracy of Bear’s nickname. Bear approached them with a large “I’m going to take your money” smile on his face.
“Well hello there. What can I do for you today?” His voice was energetic and happy. The perfect salesman.
“I am assuming you’re Bear,” Arkin said, extending his hand. The man flinched for just a moment.
“Yes that’s me. They call me Bear because, well not to sound like I have a big head, but I’m strong like a bear.” He laughed in an exaggerated fashion. “Silly, really. I tell people not to call me that, but you know how people are.”
“Yes I do. We are traveling and in need a few things. Can you help us?”
“Well, I’m sure I can. By the looks of it you have more than enough horses. I take it you need tack and things of that nature?”
“Yes, and we would like to sell seven of these horses as well.”
A look of incredulity crossed Bear’s wide face. “You want to sell seven?”
“Yes. Can you buy them, or would you like us to try someone else?”
“No, no, I can take them. Let me have a look. I hope you’re not expecting a lot for them, I mean,” Bear said, walking up to Calvin and Phantom.
“Not those ones. The ones that have stuff tied to them. You can have whichever seven you want, it doesn’t matter to me.” Bear inspected the horses that a few days ago had belonged the queen. Legon wondered if Bear would figure it out.
“These are exceptional horses. You can tell just looking at them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were military grade. Say, how did you get them?” There was a suspicious look on Bear’s face. He was going to figure it out. They must look guilty bringing in this many horses to sell.
Arkin didn’t lose his cool and said in a calm voice, “We killed ten royal guard and these were their horses.”
Legon looked at Arkin in disbelief. He wanted to say something but his voice wasn’t working. Bear looked a little uncomfortable; he looked them over, eyes lingering on Sasha and Keither, and then gave a loud bark of laugher.
“Ok, ok, I get your point. I won’t go sticking my nose into your business. Killed ten royal guards, eh? I like you, buddy. Ok, so here’s what my thoughts are: there are five of you and you are going to have eight horses, so my guess is that three of them will be for pack. Now I don’t have the money to pay you for all seven, but,” he said raising a finger,
“I will do this instead: I will take the seven and will trade out the riding saddles for the three you keep with pack saddles. Then I will shoe all your horses and make any repairs to your current equipment.” Bear smiled widely, like he was going out of his way. Arkin took a moment to answer.
“We’ll take that deal, plus four hundred shells.” Legon did another double take. That was a good chunk of change, and they didn’t need the money. What was Arkin doing?
Bear frowned. “Three hundred and I get help with the shoes.”
Arkin looked at Kovos. “It’s your call-you’re the smith.”
“Oh, you’re a smith?” Bear asked.
“Yeah, ok, deal,” Kovos said. “But one question: Why don’t you go to the forge? Why do you need my help?”
“Ah, the forge. Well, that’s government-owned and you can buy ingots from it, but as far as production it only does government work.”
“Like what?” asked Keither.
Bear looked at the boy and smirked. “Looks like you had a riding accident. If you like I would be happy to give you some lessons while you’re here.”
“Thank you, but I’m not interested,” Keither replied. “What does the forge make?”
“Oh, the forge. Well, anything for the government really-armor, weapons, wheels, you name it.”
“So nothing for the town?”
“No, it doesn’t, that’s why we need a smith, and…”
“We don’t want to take any more of your time. We need to get a few other things while we’re here. How long with this take you?” Arkin asked.
“You can leave sometime tomorrow afternoon, provided your companion here knows what he’s doing.”
“I’ll have the shoes done tonight. If you can get the tack and other stuff we can leave by morning. You guys go run your errands. I’ll hook up with you later,” Kovos said, starting to rummage through his bags. Bear gave them directions to a local inn and shops they needed to go to. By nightfall they were done with their shopping and were in Arkin’s room at the inn.
“Why did you tell Bear that we killed those men?” Keither asked. Arkin looked at him with a wry smile.
“Because no one would admit that, and it’s hard to believe. Sometimes the best way to hide something is to put it in the open. No doubt your next question will be about why I asked such a steep price for the horses when we have money. Well, that’s also easy-if we look like we’re rich then we draw attention, but if we look like we’re just bargaining then we won’t.”