Mickey Reichert - Flight of the Renshai

Darby grinned as he took the stool beside Ra-khir, clearly pleased at being addressed as a man.

Ra-khir hated to spoil Darby's thrill, but it needed doing. "We'll have two plates of whatever you have, please. Some ale for me, and a bowl of goat milk for the boy."

The barkeep turned, muttering something under his breath, of which Ra-khir caught only the word "boy."

Believing he would get more information from the gathered men than the prickly barkeep, Ra-khir turned toward them and waited to catch one's eye.

It took longer than he expected, but a burly, coarse-featured man finally looked his way.

Ra-khir smiled. "I apologize for interrupting, but I wondered if any of you gentlemen might have seen three young strangers pass through here recently?"

Heads shook, a few mumbled words passed between them, then the one who Ra-khir had addressed finally answered. "No groups of strangers, sir. Only one."

A younger man covered in dirt added, "Aye, one we wish had never come." He squinted, studying Ra-khir. "Pardon me, sir; but are you a knight?"

Ra-khir rose from his seat as courtesy demanded and gave his familiar introduction with a bow and a flourish. At the conclusion, he had the full attention of all four of the men.

"Pleased to meet you, Sir Ra-khir," the burly man said. "Pardon us if we wish you could have gotten here a few nights earlier."

Ra-khir could only give the men an empathetic gesture and his attention. He had had no way of knowing they had need for a Knight of Erythane. "Oh? What happened then?"

"Stranger came in here." This time the eldest at the table spoke, a squat man with sagging, weather-beaten skin in faded leathers. "Not much more'n a boy, really. Challenged one of our best farmers to a duel, which he naturally refused."

As the speaker paused for breath, the first man took over the narrative. "But the stranger wouldn't stop badgering him until they had that duel. And the boy butchered ol' Karruno right out there in the street, then walked away like it weren't nothing."

Ra-khir's throat squeezed. He had to know. "Was this stranger a childlike blond with absolutely no sense of humor and two swords at his hips?"

All four men stared. At length, one spoke. "Sure was. Is Erythane looking for him?"

"No," Ra-khir said honestly. "But I am. Personally. He didn't happen to leave his name, did he?"

"I heard he did, sir," the younger man said, putting his ale aside. "But no one remembers exactly what it was. They say it started with Cal, sir."

Ra-khir only nodded as thoughts raced through his mind. Calistin had come here alone, causing trouble.Thialnir was right, Calistin did need the wisdom of his older brothers; but, apparently, they had not caught up with him. At least not as of that previous evening.

Darby watched the exchange in total silence. Ra-khir appreciated that he did not blurt out anything regarding Renshai or Ra-khir's direct relationship to Calistin. He already felt responsible.

"Does Karruno have a widow? Children?" Ra-khir knew money would not make up for such a loss, and it would seem crass to offer; yet the man's family would need something to tide them over until they found relatives to assist them. If he gave his coinage directly to them, no one would know.

A few of them chuckled. The first man replied. "No, sir. A lot of women was interested, but he wasn't ready to settle down."

The news relieved Ra-khir of some of his burden, but he still felt responsible for the tragedy. Relatives or other farmers would take over Karruno's property and deal with his crops and livestock, but no one could ever truly replace the man himself. He looked at Darby, making no effort to hide his pain.

Darby made a noncommittal gesture but remained silent. It was not his place to speak.

The barkeep swept back in to toss down two plates of meat, tubers, and vegetables along with the requested drinks. He paused suddenly, studying his patrons more carefully. "Hello. You wouldn't happen to be Sir Ra-khir, a Knight of Erythane, would you?"

Ra-khir's heart skipped a beat. They know. Nevertheless, he would not lie, even if it meant taking the punishment for his son's indiscretion. "I am."

The barkeep nodded smugly. "Thought I recognized a man of character."

Ra-khir felt grimly undeserving of the compliment.

"Messenger rode through this morning. If we saw you, we were to tell you to go back to Erythane."

"Back to-" Ra-khir could scarcely believe it. His father knew he had no intention of returning without finding his missing sons. Clearly, Calistin needed someone with common sense to guide him.

"Apparently, Bearn's under attack, and they need every able sword arm."

No! Ra-khir knew as much about the Pirate Wars as anyone, yet no one had ever before considered it frank warfare. Apparently, something had changed for the worse. If Bearn needed him, he had no choice but to abandon everything and return. He looked at Darby. "As soon as we finish eating, I need to take you home."

Darby took a long gulp, then turned Ra-khir a stern look that brooked no argument. "My 'home' is now Erythane. I have as much right to protect the high king's city as anyone." His brave words would have landed more forcefully had he not sported a mustache of goat's milk.

Ra-khir graced the sentiment with the dignity it deserved. "Very well, Darby. As soon as we're finished eating, we'll head for Bearn." He had no real intention of allowing the boy to fight, but Darby could remain reasonably safe with the other knights' apprentices in Erythane. He wondered in how many towns and cities the messengers had left word for him and how many additional swordsmen would heed the call as well.

Ra-khir dropped three gold coins on the countertop. "Whatever is left from our payment needs to go to Karruno's funeral and family. A man that beloved deserves the best."

The barkeep's nostrils flared as he swept up the coins. "That's very generous, Sir Ra-khir. Please return anytime. Anytime!"

"Most gracious of you." Ra-khir gave back the polite reply, though he did not believe his family would prove as welcome as himself. He worried for Subikahn and Saviar, for Calistin most of all; but he knew where his loyalties had to lie. His father knew how important this mission was to Ra-khir. Knight-Captain Kedrin would only have called him back from necessity. He had no choice but to heed the call. When Bearn is in trouble, the Knights of Erythane will always be there. Ra-khir realized something else. Right now, Bearn needs the bodyguards to its heirs, and the Renshai's swords, more than ever.

Calistin awakened in a wet and shivering fog. A week had passed since his adventure in the Western tavern, a week spent slogging through a forest that seemed inexhaustible. Using the sun as a guide, he tried to keep his movements as northward as the towering trunks and tangled undergrowth allowed. After twice catching himself wandering in circles, he learned to stop walking at sunset, devoting himself to swordcraft and sleep until the morning. It not only honed his skill but also served as distraction from the hunger gnawing always at his belly.

Desperately thirsty, he sucked at leaves on the nearest tree, singling out the curled ones that had best collected the rain. Each sip was frustratingly small, insect portions that barely touched the fire in his mouth, the parching of his throat, and still dropped like lead into his empty stomach. He had tried eating the plants around him, but the nettles stung his gums and the others tasted more like dirt than food. Tough and stringy, he found them tasteless and impossible to satisfactorily chew. He tried cooking roots, but they charred into ash rather than plumping into the fragrant tubers he knew. In the past, food and water came to him. The Renshai saw to it that their great champion never wanted for anything.