Chapter Thirty-Nine

‘War is work.’ The old slogan of Marchioness Damadeqi Somat came back to her again, and it was one of the few things Speranzi agreed with her former commander about. Just thinking about the leader of the Qadeshiin Paladin Order set her teeth on edge all over again.

But on this at least, the hateful Marchioness had a point. There was always something else for the Commander to do, and if there wasn’t? Either the commander was dead, or inept. And if the Commander was neither, then the world would throw some unexpected thing their way that would require their attention.

A gaggle of elven prisoners, runaway slaves, brigands, whatever they were, was just the world’s way of telling her, ‘You won’t go to sleep easily tonight.’

It was almost laughable, or would have been, had she not felt the accusing stares of her elven prisoners as they were herded together to sleep surrounded by tents and soldiers. Some still made small despairing noises that pricked at Speranzi’s skin and made the tiny fine hairs on her limbs stand up well after she could no longer hear them as she approached the wagon where Corwin waited.

To her surprise, there was a child sitting near her old friend.

“What happened?” Corwin asked, taking the initiative right at the start.

“Nothing too terrible, a group of elven brigands tried to steal from our encampment and got caught. Runaway slaves, it looks like.” Speranzi jerked her thumb back over her shoulder, “We injured a few, caught the rest. They’re tied up in the middle of camp for now.”

Corwin’s face was wreathed in shadows as he held the torch up beside himself, “You’re letting them go, aren’t you?” He asked.

Speranzi frowned and furrowed her golden brow. “You know I can’t do that. They tried to rob me, they attacked several of my soldiers. They’re lucky I haven’t taken their heads already.”

“If they’re elves, there’s only one place they could have come from. You have to let them go, if you have one iota of decency in your soul, you have to.” Corwin asserted with breathless horror, his deep set eyes were wide held on to Speranzi as if she were a lifeline and he were a drowning man.

“You keep saying that, but there have been attacks out there, you know that, if these are the ones responsible, and they probably are, then I have to turn them over to the proper authorities.” Speranzi put her hand to her breast and said, “I am a Paladin still, mercenary or no. The law, justice, these are things that matter. Whatever they are, if they killed or robbed along the way, then justice must be served.” She then crossed her arms and stared Corwin down.

Even he could not help but look away when her ice blue eyes reflected the flames of the torch back at him and they pulsed with that intense way only hers seemed to do, as if some great force was pounding against a door of iron, ready to break it down.

His wounded face melted some of the iron in her resolve and she approached him to put a hand on his knee. “I healed the ones who were injured, and they’re under guard. I promise… I won’t hurt them, old friend.” Speranzi promised. “If they’re innocent-”

“I won’t let you return them to their masters. Whatever they fled from-” he stopped his words when Speranzi sighed.

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“I wish you’d stop talking like that. Just don’t start. Listen, we’re taking them back to Wenmark, we’re laying over on the way there, aren’t we?” She asked, and he gave a little nod.

“Picking up and dropping off a few passengers is the norm for these barges.” He answered, and Speranzi’s eyes lit up.

“Then it’s easy, those should have information about any crimes committed along the way out in the villages or towns, if none of the reports mention elves, then they’re halfway cleared. From there it should be easy for you to buy them for yourself and…” She shrugged with indifference, “Take them home, let them go, whatever you like.”

Corwin could only nod. “Protect them as you would me, until I’m home safely again.”

“It’s a promise.” Speranzi vowed, “I swear it in the name of the House of Jadara. Now, what about the boy there, are you going to explain or am I just going to pretend he doesn’t exist?” She asked, and the boy whimpered and flung himself down onto the floor of the wagon.

“A fit of sentiment, I think you use that term now and then. I bought him from the inn I was staying at.” Corwin answered, “I’m not staying there tonight, I gave my final apprentice my room, as a reward for remaining with me.”

“Last?” Speranzi looked into the wagon, and it was true, there were none. “Oh, well… I… I’m sorry. It was worse than I thought.” She lowered her head to him.

“It happens… this was all a bit much for them, I suppose. I’ll just have to hope for the best with their futures. I’m guessing the laborers won’t be joining us either.” He looked past her toward the camp, the tents were notably fewer, even in the torchlight that was clear.

“They haven’t come back from the city yet, if they don’t join us, they’re not coming.” Speranzi informed him, “Maybe those prisoners are a lucky find. A few good meals and they should be able to work, drive wagons, and so on.”

Corwin’s eyes shut with a heavy slowness, “It might… keep them safe, to see them working for me at least. But I won’t force them. I’ll… let me talk to them.”

“In the morning. Not now.” Speranzi said with finality, “My job is to keep you safe, it’s a needless risk to bring you close to desperate prisoners with half my soldiers exhausted and ready to sleep.”

Corwin gestured to the boy who still hid down in the wagon. “I could send Ahmarantha to talk to them, then.” Corwin insisted, “They should know it’s not over for them. You know better than anybody I know, the weight of despair. Give them that much.”

“The gods favor those who are kind to the condemned…” Speranzi quoted the scripture and inclined her head, “Fine. But I will mind him. You will settle yourself in for the night. I won’t chance him untying them either.”

“Master?” The elf boy asked, he didn’t appear in Speranzi’s eyes to be distressed in what he said, though he was hesitant at best to rise, “She won’t…”

Corwin’s voice became gentle, he almost reached out to touch the boy’s shoulder, but instead his hand fell awkwardly away, “No. She can be trusted. If she says you are safe, you are safe. And call me…” He paused, ‘I have no right to something like that, I’m not his father, I don’t want to be his ‘master’ as he thinks of the word.’ He finally settled on something, “call me ‘Uncle. That will do.”

“As you say, Uncle.” Ahmarantha answered and asked, “What do I say?”

“Tell them that they’ll be safe working for me until I can get them home. Tell them I’ve seen the place they ran from and I won’t let anyone there have them. Tell them I’ll take them home as soon as I can, but for now to be safe they’ll need to work for me. That it will provide them the protection of a fearsome defender that will move all the mountains under Heaven to do her duty. And-” He looked directly at Speranzi, “the one who captured them will provide them with something to eat tonight, as a show of good faith.”

“I’m sorry, run that by me again?” Speranzi asked and cocked her head up at her employer.

Corwin’s smug smile caught her off her guard and he answered by saying, “If they are working for me, then they are my employees. And under our contract, the Black Quivers are duty bound to protect those who work for me, even at the risk or loss of your lives.”

Speranzi groaned but had to acknowledge that he was right. “Fair enough, but remember this, that does not include violations of the law. Even if I am willing to overlook their actions tonight, that is a long way from letting them go.”

“It’s a start.” He said, and Ahmarantha gingerly descended from the cart to follow where the blonde woman led him.