Raymond E. Feist - The Complete Conclave of Shadows Trilogy - Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, Exile’s Return

Before they had finished, Talon saw all four other men rise and leave together. After they had gone, Caleb asked, ‘Who do you judge them to be?’

‘Two merchants on their way to Latagore, with two guards to accompany them.’

‘A fair assumption. Though I wager something more was in the wind.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean it’s not unusual for guards to eat near their employers, at a separate table, as those two did, but they seemed intent upon a topic they wished their employers not to overhear. They spent the entire meal in deep conversation.’

Talon shrugged. ‘I’m not sure what this means,’ he said.

‘It means nothing, except that it was not “business as usual” for the guards. One didn’t touch his meal.’ He indicated the table where the two guards had sat, and Talon saw that one plate was indeed untouched.

Talon had served enough guards and mercenaries during the year at Kendrick’s to know that most of them ate whatever was in front of them as if it might be their last meal. ‘All right, Caleb. What do you think this means?’

‘There was no wagon in sight either in the stableyard behind the inn as we approached, or on either side of the building, but there were four horses being looked after by the boy who came to take our wagon.’

Talon reflected upon what he had seen and what he knew of travelling merchants. ‘So, this would mean that those two merchants were travelling to buy goods in Latagore?’

‘Or to arrange for transport somewhere else, but they are not selling wares in the city.’

‘Which means they are carrying gold.’

‘Perhaps, but the two mercenaries they hired are likely to assume as much.’

Talon hurried to finish his meal.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Caleb.

‘We’re going to hurry after them and help, aren’t we?’

‘We are not,’ said Caleb. ‘You’ll find enough trouble on the road without volunteering to take up someone else’s.’

‘But those two guards will kill those men for sure,’ said Talon, draining his mug and standing up. ‘We can stop black murder.’

Caleb shook his head. ‘Most likely they will take whatever gold the merchants have, and the horses, and leave them to walk to Latagore. By the time they reach the city, the two mercenaries will already have left on a boat for the far shore and be on their way to High Reaches or Coastal Watch.’

‘Or they could simply slit their throats and linger in Latagore. The nervous one might get panicked and act rashly.’

Caleb stood up and signalled to the woman who had served them. ‘Tell the boy to ready our wagon.’ Looking at Talon he said, ‘We will have to whip the horses to a froth to overtake them.’

‘Not necessarily,’ said Talon. ‘The mercenaries do not look like the type to ride in haste. They will attempt to keep the merchants deceived until they attack them. You’ve travelled this road before; where would you judge the most likely place for the murders to take place?’

‘There’s a deep ravine five miles along from here, and it abuts the road. If I were to carry out an attack, that is where I would do it, for it would be easy enough work to drag the bodies up into the ravine for half a mile or so, then quickly return to the road without anyone noticing. It might take months for anyone to stumble on the bodies should that be the case.’

Talon said, ‘Then we need to hurry. They must already be a mile or more down the road.’

Caleb fixed Talon with a curious look for a moment, then said, ‘Let us go, then.’

They had to wait a few minutes for the wagon to be fetched around from the back. The boy had brushed the horses while they had rested and Caleb gave him a copper piece for doing the extra work.

Caleb set the horses to a fast walk, causing them to snort in protest at the faster than average pace. ‘If you’re right, we’ll overtake the merchant and guards just as they reach the ravine cut-off.’ He glanced over and saw that Talon’s face was set in a mask of determination. ‘Why are you so anxious to intervene, my young friend?’

Talon’s expression turned dark. ‘I don’t approve of murder.’

Caleb nodded. After a moment he said, ‘If you’re going to act the hero, it would be well for you to go armed.’

Talon nodded. He turned and fetched out a sword and belt-knife from behind the wagon’s seat. He had seen no reason to don them prior to this moment.

Caleb kept the horses moving and after a few minutes of silence, asked, ‘How are the two mercenaries armed?’

Without hesitation, Talon answered, ‘The taller one, the calm one, wore a long sword on his right hip – he’s left-handed. He wore a long dagger on his left hip, and I glimpsed the hilt of a throwing knife inside the top of his right boot.

‘The nervous fellow wore a short sword on his left hip and had two daggers in the right side of his belt. He had several knives inside that black sleeveless over-jacket he wore and another small blade in the sweatband inside his slouch hat, on the side with the black crow’s feather.’

Caleb laughed, an even more rare occurrence than smiling. ‘I missed that last one.’

‘It deformed the hat slightly.’

‘You’ve taken to your lessons at Kendrick’s well. All you missed was the blade behind the buckle of the nervous man’s belt. I only noticed it because he took care standing up and put his thumb behind it for a moment, as if preventing getting cut by it.’

‘Sounds like a bad place to keep a blade.’

Caleb said, ‘If done right, it’s a good place, really. If done poorly …’ He shrugged.

They rode along at a good clip as the sun travelled across the sky. As they crested a hill, Caleb said, ‘There.’

In the distance, Talon could see the road rise up on the left and fall away on the right. The city was now clearly in view in the distance: they would easily have reached it before nightfall if things had gone as planned.

At the far end of the road, Talon saw movement. ‘Four riders.’

Caleb snapped the reins and set the horses to a faster trot. ‘They’re going to reach the ravine sooner than I thought!’

The wagon picked up speed and Talon hung on to the seat with both hands as the heavy axles sent every bump from the wheel straight up into his back. This wagon was built to haul heavy loads, not provide comfort for those riding it.

The sound of the wagon flying down the road should have alerted the riders, but by the time Talon and Caleb drew near they could see the four men had squared off, the two merchants arguing with the two guards. The mercenary Talon thought of as ‘the nervous one’, drew his sword, just as his companion turned to see the wagon approaching. He yelled and the first man turned to see what the problem was.

The two merchants turned their horses and attempted to ride away, causing the nervous mercenary to swing his sword at the nearest merchant, cutting him on the left shoulder. The man shrieked and fell from his mount.

Caleb steered the now-galloping horses to the left of the three who were milling around. The merchant who had fallen scuttled like a crab, scrambling backwards away from the two riders. The other merchant was now charging down the road, arms flapping as if he was attempting to fly off the back of the horse.

Talon stood and launched himself off the wagon as it sped past, knocking the nervous rider from his horse, sending his sword flying. Caleb did his best to keep the wagon from overturning as it slowed down. The other mercenary quickly evaluated the situation and spurred his own mount to a gallop up the road, back the way they had come.

Talon landed on top of the nervous one who grunted as the breath was knocked out of him, then thrashed as Talon rolled off him. Talon came to his feet, sword in hand, expecting the man to be rising.