Jaleigh Johnson - Unbroken Chain - The Darker Road

The caravan mustering ground was a large open space near Tower Hevalor-Ashok wondered if the names were the same on this side. He’d never thought to ask Skagi or Cree about this.

He saw the brothers standing with a group of humans and shadar-kai. The group checked tack and wagons and prepared to harness the horses for a procession through the portal. Ashok was vaguely surprised to see Tuva and Vlahna among the shadar-kai.

Skagi and Cree waved him over, and Tuva nodded when he saw him.

“Tatigan’s up front with the other merchants,” Skagi said, and added, “Caravan’s bigger than I expected.”

“Tuva and Vlahna have led caravan missions in Faerun, or so I heard,” Cree said. “Uwan put them in charge of all the guards, including the humans.”

Ashok noticed that Cree, true to his word, had been to the inker sometime after Olra’s funeral. A serpentine tattoo with delicate black scales curved around his cheekbone and across his closed left eyelid, which was heavily scarred and had no lashes. The tattoo ended in a snake’s head just above his left eyebrow.

“Have you seen Ilvani?” Ashok asked. “I went to her chambers, but she’d already left.”

Skagi looked around and pointed. “She’s there, talking to Daruk.”

Ashok followed his gaze and saw a dark-skinned human in breeches and a deep gray tunic. He smiled when he spoke to Ilvani, but the witch’s face was impassive.

“Who is he?” Ashok asked.

“He’s my bard.”

They turned and saw Tatigan. The merchant spoke to two of the human guards and sent them off to stow extra gear in the wagons. Then he took off his spectacles and cleaned them on his sleeve. His eyes were bright with anticipation.

“You travel with your own bard?” Cree said.

“No wonder the caravan’s so big, if he brings all the home comforts with him.” Skagi snickered.

“Oh yes, Daruk went on several caravan runs with me, back when I operated alone,” Tatigan said. “When I formed this little coster operation, he was the first one I asked along on the journey. I think you’ll find him interesting, perhaps even helpful, company. In fact, this whole venture promises to be very interesting. I simply hope I have enough parchment to record it all.”

Tatigan walked away, grinning.

Ashok watched the other shadar-kai as they formed the horses and wagons up into a line. He counted six of them, and though the human guards far outnumbered them, the shadar-kai warriors looked seasoned and deadly.

The caravan lined up to move two abreast and eleven deep, with guards at various points on all sides. Vlahna determined guard placements and ordered everyone to their positions so she could survey how secure the caravan would be and if there were any weak points. She kept the six shadar-kai together in one group and ordered them to the front. Ashok, Cree, and Skagi she sent to guard their backs. Ilvani would ride in the rear wagon as spell support if necessary.

Ashok saw a shadar-kai cleric among the contingent at the front, and a human cleric of Tymora rode in one of the wagons. Tuva and Vlahna took up roving positions on either side of the caravan.

“What of these shadar-kai guards?” Ashok said to the brothers as they went to their posts. “Do you know them?”

“Not by name. Sellswords,” Skagi said, with an edge of distaste.

“How many of them?”

“All six, as far as we know,” Cree said. “They’re all affiliated either with Tatigan or one of the other merchants.”

“Why didn’t they join the military when Uwan lifted the ban?” Ashok said.

“I don’t know, but they’re not the only ones,” Cree said. “There’s an entire faction of shadar-kai who kept their old professions. I heard rumors Uwan’s decision caused a stir among some of the merchants. Lifting the ban on military service caused them to lose some of their best warriors, and they had to offer the rest more coin as an incentive to stay.”

“More coin’s one thing, but they can’t feel too kindly toward us that used to call them Blites, either,” Skagi said.

“Some still do,” Cree said, with a pointed glance at his brother. Ashok nodded. It made sense. He’d been naive to assume that all shadar-kai would want the honor of service to Ikemmu, that they would willingly go where they hadn’t been welcome before and where they might still be scorned. The city had a long, delicate road ahead.

“Eyes to the front!” Tuva called to the gathered crew. “We’re breaths away from the Diteen bell, and that’s the signal to move out. I want no stragglers through the portal. Remember, departing caravans use this location on every run, so ambushers know exactly where to lie in wait for us. When we go through, we’re vulnerable, so I want weapons out and eyes on the hills. For those of you just joining us on this little parade”-he shot a glance at Ashok, Skagi, and Cree-“the place where we’re coming out has low hills for a mile or so; then it’s flat country along the Clearflow River to the north. The good news is that means we’ll have fresh water and game to hunt, so we won’t have to eat into our supplies. The bad news is that it’s open ground, and with winter coming on fast, we’ll have bitterly cold days and nights that’ll make you wish you were back fighting the dust storms on the Shadowfell. But make no mistake, friends, this is the easiest part of the journey.” Tuva smiled, exposing a gap between his two front teeth. “Once we join up with the Golden Way and head for the Sunrise Mountains, things are going to get a lot more interesting.”

Ilvani came to join them. She wore a heavy black dress and her cloak with its drape of chains. Her green pouch hung at her waist as usual, and she carried an extra pack on her back. She climbed into the back of the wagon and sat down. Ashok tried to catch her eye, but she didn’t acknowledge him.

“Greetings, Ilvani,” he said. “Are you ready for the journey?”

She looked up at him. Her eyes were still heavy with fatigue. He could see the bandages poking out of the sleeves of her dress. Ashok hoped she hadn’t added any new wounds since he’d seen her last.

“She died again last night,” Ilvani said. “The storm turned her into a living corpse. I can’t get the smell out of my room.”

“You had another dream?” Ashok said.

She looked away. It was answer enough.

“We’ll fix it,” Ashok said. He put as much confidence as he could into the words.

Tatigan and Tuva were speaking at the front of the pack. Ashok saw four others with him: a human man and woman who stood close together, a dwarf with black hair and beard braided through with streaks of gray, and a human man who stood a little apart.

These must be the other merchants, though the young human didn’t look old enough or confident enough to be master of anything, Ashok mused. His gaze darted between Tuva and Tatigan, as if he didn’t know what to make of either the grizzled shadar-kai warrior or the eccentric merchant. The man and woman beckoned to him then, and the young one went to join them. When they stood together, Ashok saw a resemblance among the three that marked them as one family. The young man had his father’s stance and slenderness, but he had his mother’s deep brown hair and eyes. Tatigan turned then and spoke to the family, and they listened attentively.

The dwarf, as far as Ashok could see, stayed silent through the whole conference. Though he appeared to pay attention to the proceedings, he kept shooting glances at the horse and wagon preparations. Once or twice, he went to help the guards by separating two incompatible horses or helping tie down crates and barrels that weren’t quite secure in the back of the high-walled wagons.

A veteran, Ashok thought in approval. Tatigan’s coster may have been a new arrangement, but there were people on board who knew what they were doing. That was a hopeful sign for their success.