Jalia in the North (Jalia - World of Jalon), page 13
“These seem steep prices for simply crossing a bridge,” Daniel said evenly, though even he felt more than a little annoyed. “But we are not subject to them because we are heading east and have just come from the north.”
The guard snorted in disbelief, “No one comes from the north.”
“But we did, and if we do not exit from this very gate you are free to charge your levy on us.”
“That’s not how it works,” the guard said, flustered by Daniel’s argument. “We also protect you from thieves.”
“We have already met the thieves in this city and we can protect ourselves from you,” Jalia said, perhaps a little unwisely.
Daniel put his hand up to stop a fight breaking out. “Do you have a ruler we can speak to and sort this out?”
“Baron Tynes is the city’s elected leader. I am Sergeant Mulna. Take your things and go for now, but we will take your horse and donkeys if you try to leave from any gate in the city without paying your taxes.”
“I think we should leave, Daniel,” Jalia said as she prepared to mount her horse. “I’m sick of this town already.”
Sergeant Mulna folded his arms and stood between Jalia and the gate. “The law is the law and once you have entered you cannot leave without paying your taxes.” The sergeant waved an intricate carved stamp at them, “You’ll need a pass stamped with one of these to leave and you won’t get one until you’ve paid.”
“We’ll discuss this with your Baron,” Daniel said calmly and mounted Jet. “Come on, Jalia. Let’s see if there is anything in this town worth what they want to charge us.”
Jalia followed Daniel and his donkeys into the town.
“They’re going to be trouble, I can tell,” Corporal Feta said as he stepped closer the Sergeant.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Sergeant Mulna replied with a grunt of satisfaction.
The streets of Taybee were narrow and cobbled with small stones. Houses leaned out across the streets so there was little sky to see. Daniel and Jalia made their way to the center of the city. One advantage of the close packed streets and houses was that they were free of ice and seemed to hold the heat from the houses.
They passed taverns filled with drunken people, many of them out on the streets. Some drunks lay where they had fallen. Daniel had never seen a place so undisciplined. In Delbon, a man falling drunk on the street would have found himself in the dungeons and nobody came out of the King’s dungeons alive.
There was also music, laughter, and singing. It appeared that the center of the town was given over to debauchery. Jalia had to pick her way through the street with care and she looked at Daniel with disgust on her face.
“I thought Buran was bad because they didn’t seem to mind the odd man wandering around drunk, but here it seems alcohol is abused by everyone.”
“Perhaps it’s a northern way of doing things. Or perhaps the result of gold fever.” Daniel pulled Jet to a halt as a man fled a tavern, followed closely by a man carrying a knife. Almost without thinking, Daniel drew his sword and knocked the knife out of the man’s hand with the flat of his blade. The man fell to the cobbled street clutching at his bruised wrist. When he saw Daniel was on a horse with a drawn sword, he scuttled off down the street in evident alarm.
A much better dressed man appeared at the end of the street and beckoned them forward. “Would you be interested in a room for the night and shelter for your horses and donkeys? Only four pieces of gold a night and you won’t find cheaper or better accommodation anywhere in Taybee.”
Four pieces of gold would have been an outrageous price for a room for a month, but Daniel had begun to suspect this was what happened where gold was found. He also had a suspicion the trade goods his donkeys were carrying were going to be worth more than enough to barter to a reasonable price.
“And what would a bag of fine black pepper be worth to you?” he asked the man.
The man laughed, “You sound like you’ll soon get the hang of things around here. My name is Mart Windor and I am owner of the Jumping Trout Hostelry just down the road. I’m sure we can reach a mutually beneficial trade for your rooms.”
The Jumping Trout turned out to be a considerable distance away. Following Mart, they found the hostelry was a three story building, whose middle and upper flows extended out over the river.
The River Calda flowed under the bridge only a few hundred yards south of where the hostel stood. The river banks were stone walled on both sides, a major feat of ancient engineering. Whoever undertook this great work had narrowed the width of the river, so it flowed swift and deep, churning against the walls as if trying to escape
Daniel took one look and realized that a fall into the river would mean certain death. The river was ice cold and anybody falling in would be dragged into its center by its currents and carried for miles. They’d be dead from exposure before they had any chance to reach the shore.
There were stables to the south side of the hostelry and Daniel unpacked his trade goods there. He fed and watered the donkeys and horses while Jalia inspected the hostel and their room. When she was satisfied with the room’s security she went in search of Daniel.
They moved the bags with their trade goods up to their room under the watchful eye of Mart who made no offer of help. He did, however, offer them a warming cup of tea when they came down after they finished.
Jalia was mistrustful of the tea after her experience with Will and sipped only the smallest amounts until she saw Daniel drink his cup with no ill effects. Mart took no notice of her wariness and spoke exclusively to Daniel.
“You’re a trader, I can see that. Taybee is awash with gold and consequently it is worth far less here than anywhere else in the world except perhaps for Telmar and Brinan, though I hear Brinan is not really a town anymore as order has failed there.”
“With so much gold around, who is left to do the work?” Daniel asked.
“Nobody much. It became too dangerous to farm over a year ago. The miners sent raiders to steal from the fields, killing those who opposed them. The farmers moved to the city and we elected the Baron to protect us. He makes the miners and travellers pay taxes high enough to pay for the food we have to import.”
“So people like us get fleeced so you can eat?” Jalia growled.
“The option was to starve as we could not grow our own food. Would you have our women and children starve?” Mart asked her accusingly.
“No, but…,” was as far as Jalia got before lapsing into a moody silence. She didn’t think such methods were a good way for people to live. They had become little better than the raiders they feared.
“If you have goods to trade, I can get you a fair price for them,” Mart continued and waited for a response from Daniel.
“For a reasonable commission, on your part?” Daniel enquired with a grin.
“Well, of course,” Mart responded, clapping Daniel on the back.
“There is a minor problem,” Daniel continued, and Mart raised his eyebrows in query, “You will have to do your trades with my business partner.” Daniel indicated Jalia with a nod.
“And the deals she cuts may result in you having to sell your children to pay for them,” Daniel concluded with a wolfish grin.
Jalia looked up and smiled. Mart laughed a little uncomfortably as he wasn’t really sure what the joke was.
Jalia collected a small bag of trade goods from their room. The room had a stout door and a sophisticated lock and the hostelry itself was guarded. All in all, Jalia felt that their goods were reasonably safe from thieves.
When she returned to the common room, Daniel and Mart were deep in conversation about trade in the southern cities. She coughed to get their attention and asked Mart if he had a private room where they could bargain for their room and board.
Mart looked nonplussed and asked why she did not want to include Daniel in their discussions, but Daniel laughed and waved them away. Jalia had picked up the implications behind Daniel’s comment about pepper and she knew that if Taybee had to import all its food, spices would likely command a very high price. Her trading instincts came to the fore and she looked forward to having some fun.
An hour later a grinning Jalia pranced out of Mart’s private office and announced to the world that she was going out to see the sights of Taybee.
A few minutes later, a dazed looking Mart wandered into the common room and poured himself a tankard of ale before sitting with Daniel.
“Do I still wear my trousers?” he asked in a serious voice.
“She drives a hard bargain when she’s in the mood.”
“Hard is not the word to describe that girl. Even though she is your partner it would have only been fair to warn me first.” Mart took a large swig of ale. “I think I may be able to turn a profit on what she sold me, but it will be hard work.”
“She must be slipping.”
“I note young trader, that she didn’t give you any of the coins she extracted from me before she left.”
“I would have been surprised if she had. Besides which, she rarely loses against anyone foolish enough to wager with her.”
“You seem unconcerned that a young woman who you claim some intimacy with, has gone out into the most lawless place I have ever known, with an amount of money that many here would kill for.” Mart slammed his tankard down on the table and glared at Daniel as if he couldn’t believe he cared so little.
“If you were to see Jalia fight and were then asked to describe her, her trading skills would not merit a mention. And if she breaks your town it will be no great loss.” Daniel smiled.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed at the comfort of a warm room and a full belly. He had taken the opportunity to order and eat a meal while Jalia and Mart bargained.
“So should I instruct Tam to get ready to bar the door for when the city guards come a calling?” Mart asked. He had noted Jalia’s sword and knife when they first met. If Daniel was this unconcerned about her, then she knew how to use them.
“She rarely brings trouble directly home, though it does follow her as if they were old friends.” Daniel smiled again at Mart. “I don’t think she will bring it back tonight, so relax.”
“If this girl is so much trouble, why do you stay with her? You look like a decent young man who could settle down anywhere and be welcome.”
“You’re the second person to ask me that in the last month.” Daniel leaned towards Mart. “The first was Jalia after we encountered a problem on the road. I will tell you this Mart. Jalia completes me, when I am not with her it is as if something is missing, and I look around in puzzlement for it.”
Mart shrugged.
“And where she goes things get better. Not because she plans it, but because that is the way the world changes around her.”
Daniel settled back in his chair, “I will give you an example by telling you what happened on the road before we reached this place. We met a man on the road, a fur trapper and trader who called himself Will. Have you heard of him?”
“No,” said Mart, casting his mind back over the many people he had met, “Trapping fur was common in the north until the lust for gold brought most men down from the hills.”
“He drugged Jalia and took her. We were forced to kill him.”
Mart shrugged, such things happened everywhere, mountain men stealing women to take as wives. His eldest daughter had suffered just such a fate though he still hoped to hear from her someday.
“We found he had been taking women for many years, using them over the winter and killing them in the spring. We found their bodies preserved in the cave where he killed them.”
Mart felt a sense of shock and apprehension. Mountain men rarely killed the women they took because women were so precious. He didn’t want to hear any more of this, but he found himself asking Daniel a question.
“How many did he kill?”
“We found six bodies of girls in the cave. We buried them in a clearing, wrapped in that bastard’s furs. He kept them naked, as he had with Jalia.”
Mart wanted to ask what the girls looked like, but he knew that was stupid as they had been dead for years. Daniel noticed Mart had gone white and realized this man might have lost someone close to him.
“Their clothes were piled in separate heaps and we brought one distinctive item from each pile with us. Perhaps you would care to look at them?”
Mart nodded numbly and Daniel left the common room for his room. Daniel thought Mart might follow, but he stayed sat in his chair. Daniel found the bag with the clothes in and brought it down. He placed it in front of Mart and opened the leather straps.
“I can tell you have lost someone. Are you sure you want to look?”
Mart didn’t answer, but grabbed the bag and started taking out the clothes. When he got to a pretty red silk scarf, the bag fell from his hands and he held the scarf to his face. Daniel said nothing and waited.
“You killed this man?” Mart asked.
“I made quite sure he was dead and left his body for wild dogs to find and eat.” Daniel said as if discussing the weather.
“And you buried the bodies of the …,” Mart could not complete the sentence.
“We found a clearing in the forest and buried them there. I piled up rocks on the grave to the point where I can be sure that no wild animal will ever disturb them.”
“Have your trade goods back, your lodging are free for as long as you want,” Mart stood up as if to go.
“Anything you negotiated with Jalia would be more than fair. I would not dream of taking anything back.”
“Can I keep the scarf?” Mart asked, but it wasn’t really a question. Daniel nodded.
“The clothes belong to the other girls. Perhaps you would know who to show them to? That’s why we brought them with us.”
Mart picked up the bag and began to walk from the room, as he reached the door he turned to Daniel, “I understand what you mean about your woman. Wrongs are righted in her path, terrible things happen as well. I would bid you goodnight, sir. Perhaps we may talk again tomorrow?”
“I would welcome it.”
An Old Friend
Jalia was enjoying herself. Taybee might be full of drunks, but every bar she entered made her feel more alive. The first place she found was a brothel. Girls danced naked on a stage and men ogled them as drinks were purchased for outrageous prices. It was not the kind of place Jalia wanted to stay, because men got the wrong idea. This was a shame because the music was like nothing she had ever heard and got her heart racing. But after knocking out two of the more adventurous drunks, she knew her time was up and she should leave.
What she was looking for was a place to play cards or roll dice, failing that a private bath house where she could bathe in privacy would do just fine. What she found first was a gambling house, which wasn’t all that surprising given the general level of hygiene she saw around her.
The gambling house was out of the way on a side street and the side street was very narrow. She might have missed it entirely, but for a well-dressed man with the look of a card sharp swaggering down the street and into a building. She followed him and found herself in a large windowless room. A fog of smoke hung in the air. The men were smoking short pipes of a type Jalia was unfamiliar with, though the rank smell of the narcotics filling the air was familiar.
Men playing cards can be recognized anywhere, the way they hold themselves reveals their tension and their stillness is distinctive, if not unique. Jalia took one look and realized she was back on familiar ground.
Most men are wary of letting women into their game. Women tend to treat the game less seriously than them and had been known to make ungracious remarks when they lose. Jalia compensated for this prejudice by the simple practice of placing a large amount of money on the table. In this case, she used an enormous amount of money, because gold had so little value.
“Sit down and join the game, honey,” a large man wearing a strange hat told her. Jalia pulled a chair to the table.
“Your fellow players are Thent, Sam and Dant. My name is Carn. And your name is…?” The man said as the players around the table nodded towards her.
“My name is Jalia and I like high-stakes card games.”
“I think we’re going to get on fine,” Carn said as he began to deal.
Two hours later, Jalia started to build her winnings. They were still relatively small, but she knew she had to play the others so they didn’t suspect just how good she was. Otherwise, they would ask her to leave, if she was lucky. Sometimes gamblers could become violent after losing their money.
She was about to claim a large pot when a voice sounded behind her. “Jalia al’Dare, as I live and breathe. You men should know you’re playing the best card sharp Bagdor ever bred, and she was that when she was twelve years old.”
The men dropped their cards face down on the table and retrieved their money from the pot. One look told Jalia they weren’t going to be playing cards with her any more, this night or ever again. Jalia was furious, but picked up her money and left the table.
The man who waited to greet her grinned as if they were old friends, though she didn’t have a clue who the idiot was. Her dearest desire was to plunge a knife into his stomach or perhaps to cut his throat, but Daniel would be upset if she did either. As it was, she tried to smile at him. If Daniel had seen the smile she managed he would have put a stout door between them.
“You don’t recognize me, do you?” The man was in his late twenties, with hair cut severely short and wearing clothes not dissimilar to what the guards on the gates wore, but without the breastplate.
“No, but I do know you stopped me winning money tonight.”
“Oh, sorry about that.” The man smiled at her. “But I used to bounce you on my knee and I couldn’t resist calling out and telling someone. I am Malfa a’Dant and once upon a time you went around telling everyone you were going to marry me when you grew up.”
