unobtrusive. The Keep had themost law-abiding citizenry she’d seen anywhere, and the taverner was known tokeep a close eye on his customers, as did the guards who came here. Still… nopoint in tempting anyone. The men slid the packets out of sight. M’Baddah camepartway to his feet again, but M’Whan pressed him back down.
“You said you would rest, Father. A cup of pressed fruit anda small ale for you, isn’t it, Eddis?”
She nodded, and he went off to the counter. M’Baddah cut athick slice of bread and handed it to her, his face expressionless.
“Your leg is all right?” she asked.
He nodded. He didn’t like being fussed over, she knew, andshe kept her voice neutral.
“It is fine, and I am fine. M’Whan thinks it his fault.”
Eddis shook her head. “We were in a bad spot, and he disabledand killed the one man with a distance weapon, and it’s
“You know his problem, my Eddis. He thinks however much hetrains, and however skilled he becomes, he will let me down. I cannot persuade him this is not so.”
He went abruptly quiet as M’Whan returned with two woodencups. She tore off a bit of the dark brown, pungent bread, then washed it down with a swallow of fruit juice before topping off the cup with some ale.
“Apricots-oh, that’s nice.”
There was silence around the small table for some time, as they finished the bread. Eddis poured the last of the ale into the apricot juice and drained the cup.
“I think I’ll last until nightfall, now.”
“I asked the taverner for you,” M’Baddah said. “The same stewas last time: venison in a thick broth, and plenty of tubers and carrots. And the taverner’s wife still makes one pot with and one without the onions.”
“Good.” Onions made her ill, which had been another goodreason to leave her home village. She leaned forward on her elbows. “Now. Haveyou heard anything yet about customers leaving here?”
M’Whan shook his head. “I asked in the stables, Eddis. Theysaid some hide merchants came in earlier, but they won’t leave until everythingthey brought sells-two carts of goods and another of weapons and metals.”
“Weapons? Interesting. Most tanners stick to their hides.Still, they’ll be fighting snow over the passes if they delay too long,” Eddissaid. “Not our concern. What escort?”
“I did not learn that yet,” M’Baddah put in. “But I hearthere is an ore-monger who wants a guard for himself and his purse in the next day or so.”
“Too soon for me,” Eddis replied.
Too soon for M’Baddah, she thought. Whatever special potionshe carried, he’d still taken a quarrel in the thigh, and she wasn’t about tohead out with her lieutenant wounded. If all else failed, she’d claim exhaustionherself to keep them here until he was all right. She glanced around the room. There weren’t many people around at this hour; a few men sharing a jug of wineat a nearby trestle might be either off-duty guards or armsmen. No one she recognized.
“My Eddis,” M’Baddah said, “I agree there is no hurry for us.You look tired, and this season has been good to us. We can afford to wait for a client or even return north without one. Also,” he added with a sly smile, “Iwill need time to sell that horse of yours.”
She smiled back. “I know. Still, if we can find a client, afew days from now, I’d rather not-”
“I understand,” he said. “You have been poor and hungry, andyou choose not to be these things again.” He shrugged. “It will not be aproblem, my Eddis. You have a good reputation.”
“We have,” she corrected him.
“We, then. What?” he asked as M’Whan’s gaze went beyond them,toward the door. Eddis turned to look.
Two tall, ruddy men stood just inside the open doorway, and one of them was laughing cheerfully and loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
Eddis groaned. “Oh, gods, it’s Jerdren. I should have known.”
“But I thought you liked Jerdren?” M’Whan asked ratheranxiously.
“I do. Sort of. Sometimes. But he’s… impetuous. Trouble.Remember the fight he started last time we met up with him?”
“I remember.” The youth cast up his eyes. “Because we sleptin the stable that night after getting kicked out of the inn.”
“Well, that’s Jerdren for you,” Eddis said resignedly. “Youjust never know what he’ll do, but you
M’Whan shook his head. “He knows that too, doesn’t he?”
“I think so. Gods, I hope so. Still, why would that stop-”
A cheerful, carrying voice filled the room, silencing her and briefly quieting most of the chatter around them.
“By my father’s white beard, it’s never Eddis, is it?”Jerdren strode over to clap her on the shoulder. “I haven’t seen you since…” He considered this and shrugged it aside.
“Since the ale house in Lower Vale,” Eddis said, mildlyenough. “The one where you and those two village louts got in a fight over thebarmaid and got all of us tossed out.”
“Why-so it was.” He seemed surprised by this, then grinnedagain. “But I didn’t get
“I didn’t punch him until he grabbed my-never mind.” Eddisscowled up at him. “Damn all, Jers, why is it that every other time we run intoeach other, you’ve either been in a fight or are about to pick one? Not justLower Vale, but Hillside, Rivers-Edge
She slapped the table, lowered her voice as M’Baddah touchedthe back of her near hand. “Sorry, M’Baddah. All the same, you’re a curse,Jerdren, that’s what you are. And frankly, if you plan on starting a fight here,or even if you don’t plan one…” She drew a deep breath and let it out in ahard gust. “Well, you’d better find someplace else to sit, or I swear I’ll-”
“Ouch,” Blorys put in wryly and offered her a shy grin.
Eddis glanced at him and fought a sudden smile. Poor man, shackled to a crazy brother like Jers.
“Fights?” Jerdren’s sandy red eyebrows went up. “Why would Istart a fight in the Keep? There are rules, right? Only a fool would do that, right?”
Blorys cast his eyes up. Jerdren shrugged and smiled cheerfully.
“So, that’s settled. Eddis, you look gorgeous as always, andI’m tame today, I promise you, so is there room enough here for Blor and me tojoin you? We haven’t talked in a while, you know.”
Eddis edged over toward M’Baddah. Jerdren grabbed two emptystools, while his brother went for a jug of wine and cups. “How long’ve you beenhere?”
“An hour or so,” she said. “You?”
“Got in around midday.”
Eddis sighed heavily. “I should’ve known that was you. Had alittle trouble on the way, did you?” she said sourly. “And left a nasty messbehind?”
“Huh?” He stared blankly. “Oh. Were the bodies still there?”
“One dead horse count? Also, lots of blood?”
“Not my fault,” Jerdren said dryly. “You cut ’em to keep fromgetting cut by ’em, and they bleed. Fact of life.”
He took a cup of wine from Blorys, drank deeply, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and gave her a cheerful grin. “Just trying toleave a clear road for you, Eddis.”
“Yah,” she scoffed. “Hello, Blorys. How’s the road?”
Blorys smiled. “Same as always. This last caravan waspleasant enough. One before that, seems we fought someone or something off every single day. One before that, up on the Holderin foothills, river flooded and took half our camp downstream.”
“Old business,” Jerdren said, impatiently. “Same as always,same as last year, and same as the next, probably.” He seemed to come to somedecision, drank quickly, and set the cup aside. “Listen, Eddis,” he saidcrisply.
