The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (45 page)

“
Time to put it down Matthias,” Luccius smiled.

Matthias raised his brow and smiled. “I will give you ten
Mahalian auldins. That’s worth as much as two hundred and fifty
soldars.”

“
What’s an
auldin?
” Josephine asked Luccius
quietly.

“
It’s a block of gold with the stamp of Mahalia
embedded on top. They are about the length of your thumb. You could
buy a
lot
with even
one
of them,” the ansuwan advised her.

The smith eyed Matthias warily. “You have the
dress of a nobleman, my friend, but where would someone so
young
have got such
wealth from, to spend it on one piece?”

“
That is
my
business,” Matthias replied with a smile. “Will you accept
my offer?”

“
I will
see
your gold first,” Malazar said hesitantly and
gestured for the sword.

Matthias nodded and passed it back to him. He shrugged the
bag off his back and placed it on the floor, and rifled deep within
until his fingers found what they were looking for. He drew out a
dark, wooden, latched box and placed it on the floor. He slid out
the front panel, and then pressed on two small buttons hidden
beneath it. It clicked, and he opened the lid. Inside were two sets
of gold blocks: five piled one on top of the other in each.
Matthias lifted the box up and passed it to Malazar, who set the
sword aside and took the receptacle, the surprise evident on his
face. Gingerly he drew one of the square blocks out and inspected
it carefully, turning it over and over and holding it to the light.
The metal glinted yellow on his face and his eyes sparkled.
Finally, he nodded his head.

“
Well, I’ll give it you my young friend, I
didn’t
really
expect you to have the money!” He took a deep breath, and
then nodded. “Alright. Ten auldins it is then.”

Matthias nodded and smiled. “It is a pleasure to
do business with you Mister Malazar. Oh, you can
keep
the box,” he
gestured, as the man passed him the sword.

“
You mean to say you’ve been lugging that box of
gold around
all
this time?” Luccius asked, agog, as they left the shop.
“Those men in Tanavern would have had a
field
day! Where did you
get
that kind of
money?”

“
I
saved it,” Matthias replied.

“
How? By selling your
soul?
”

Matthias shook his head. “We should be getting to the inn,”
he said, and began walking on.

“
I can’t
believe
you just bought that sword for that much
money!
” Thadius exclaimed. “You’ve just given Malazar enough of a
fortune to build a castle!

“
What could
you
possibly need with a sword anyway?” Josephine
asked as they carried on walking. “You’re a
wizard!
”

“
It
never hurts to have a back - up plan,” Matthias replied.

“
That’s an
expensive
back up plan,” Luccius
commented.

Josephine pulled them to a stop again. “Matthias, it’s to do
with that dragon carved onto its blade, isn’t it?” Josephine asked.
“I saw you look at me in the shop when he mentioned it.”

“
It’s not Sikaris, if that’s what you think,”
Matthias replied. Then he nodded. “But you’re right, I did buy it
because of that. It’s also the reason I
paid
so much. And believe it or not, this
sword
is
a
bargain for the price.” They looked at him askance. “This blade
isn’t made of any steel or common metal. It’s made of
urunahenium
.”

“
That whole blade is made of the
rarest
metal in the
world?” Luccius asked. “Then that must be worth…”

“
At least
fifty
times what I bought it for. And it also means that
it is damned near
indestructible
. The only thing known to be able to tear through
forged urunahenium is… anyone care to hazard a guess?” he
asked.

“
Wizards?” Thadius ventured, shrugging.

Matthias shook his head. “No!
Dragons
. Their teeth are one of the only
things known to be able to break this metal. The engraving of the
dragon is a symbol that this is urunahenium. It’s like a hallmark.
Istaban must have mistaken it for a simple
decoration.”

“
So
with a blade like that…” Josephine paused. “Could you fight a
dragon with it?”

Matthias shrugged. “Perhaps. I don’t know. A normal dragon
maybe, but I’m not sure about Sikaris. He has been enchanted with a
power remember? He’s like a hundred dragons, all rolled into one.
But it can’t hurt to have it, just in case.”

He
tucked it into his belt, where it fit quite nicely as he tied the
cord to the leather strap.

“
What do you think?” he asked, modelling the weapon, its hilt
poking out from his coat.

“
Very
nice. Now can we
please
find somewhere where we can
eat
something?” Thadius
muttered.

“
You’re just jealous because you didn’t buy anything,”
Matthias jested.

“
I couldn’t
afford
to! Not with the money
I
make.” He grumbled as they made their way
through town.

“
When we return to Rina, Thadius, I will have that
man make you
whatever
sword you would like,” Josephine smiled. “You have
more
than earned
it.”

The
knight blushed. “Princess, that isn’t necessary. Being here to
protect you is payment enough.”

“
Perhaps. But I will buy you one anyway as a token
of my thanks,” she said. “Ah,
there’s
the inn!” She pointed, to a large, three-storey
building as they emerged from the cobbled street into the square.
“Oh
my
!”
The princess raised a hand to her mouth in surprise. “When you said
it was called the ‘Aslemerian’s head’, I did not understand why
until now!” She looked up at a rotting head that hung from a pole
fixed to the side of the inn. It swung slightly in the light
breeze, bone protruding from the sagging, green-grey flesh, empty,
bony eye sockets peering into nothing.

“
I
believe he was slain in a great battle many, many years ago,”
Thadius explained as they approached. “One of many conflicts the
Olindians had with Aslemer.”

“
And we
inherited
it?” The princess asked. She grimaced. “It still
has
skin!
” she commented and shook her head. “I think I may be sick.
The
smell
…” she pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve and raised
it to her nose.

“
I
thought you went to beheadings in Rina?” Matthias asked.

“
Yes, but that’s different! I never… I mean, I never
saw...”

“
You never stayed around to see the consequences of
those beheadings?” Matthias finished bluntly. “Your culture takes
pleasure in displaying the trophies of war and justice. When I
arrived in Rina there was a young man hanging from one of your
scaffolds. He had stolen a loaf of
bread
. What honour is there in displaying his corpse
for all to see for such a minor crime?”

The
princess looked at him with a mixture of guilt and nausea, her face
downcast. “Please can we go in?” she asked wanly. “I believe I have
experienced enough insights into my people for one day.”

They
took up a private room within the inn to rest. It was a modest
size, with three beds and a chair with a desk. After they had
stored their baggage they rested for an hour or so in the comfort
of their surroundings until the sun went down and the smell of
cooked meat from the kitchen below proved too much to resist. They
made their way down to the common area and purchased four hearty
meals: salted pork with boiled potatoes and cabbage. They all
collapsed back in the room after they had finished.

“
That was worth
every
penny!” Thadius said, smiling. “I have not
eaten such good meat in a long time!”

“
It
was a nice change of pace, I’ll grant you,” Matthias replied,
nodding. He turned to Josephine. “Princess, did you enjoy it? You
seemed quiet downstairs.”

Josephine looked up at him absently. “The meal was very
pleasant,” she said quietly.

Matthias stood up. “I have offended you again, haven’t I,
with my comments earlier?” he asked, walking over to
her.

Josephine shook her head. “No, your comments were quite
valid, Matthias,” she replied. “I was just not prepared for them,
or the reality they depicted of my people.”

“
Princess, the Aslemerian fought in battle,” Thadius added.
“His death would have been honourable.”

“
But what of his
afterlife?
Hanging outside for all to see?
What
honour
is there in that? What honour is there in hanging a
young
boy
with mouths to feed?” She shook her head. “These are my
father’s laws. These are laws I will be expected to uphold one
day!”

“
They are laws that have protected our people for many years,”
Thadius advised.

Matthias placed a hand on the princess’s shoulder. “I
shouldn’t have been so blunt. You have enough to deal with, without
me giving you a morality lesson into the bargain.”

There was a knock at the door that made them all jump and
take notice. Thadius reached for his sword that he had cast aside
onto the desk earlier.

“
What
now?
” the knight whispered.

“
Who
is it?” Matthias called out.

“
Your pardon, but I need to speak with Thadius,” a voice
called back through the thin wood.

They
all stared at the knight, who shook his head and shrugged. He made
his way cautiously to the door and loosened the latch opening it
slowly. A middle- aged man stared back at him, clothed in the garb
of the watch. He was a dumpy man, a head shorter than Thadius and
he stared up at him through a face riddled with pock - marks and
scars, his black beard mottled with grey.

“
Begging your pardon,” the man said. “I do not mean to
disturb.”

“
Who
are you friend?” Thadius asked. “And how do you know
me?”

The
man smiled familiarly. “My name is Yarin. I’m not surprised that
you do not recognise me,” he replied and pointed to his face. “This
face was much more youthful and handsome than it has become in
these last fifteen years. We were posted here together here. Do you
remember the ‘knight of the five maidens?’” he asked cryptically.
Thadius was visibly taken aback. He coughed and blushed, looking
back at the others, who stared intently. Gingerly, he nodded. “We
drank a toast to our victories in this very inn that
night.”

Thadius stepped back from the door and gestured
for his entry to the room. “I remember you,” he said quietly.
“My
gods
, but you have changed!”

“
As I said, I have not aged very well, my friend,”
he replied, patting Thadius on the arm as he stepped inside.
“But
you
I recognised almost straight away down in the inn. You are
a little taller, perhaps a little more leathery, but still the same
face nonetheless.” He bowed to the others and lingered on Josephine
a moment. “I must admit to being taken aback at seeing you though,
even in
spite
of recent news. I thought it best not to approach you in
public, so I waited until you had retired up
here.”

“
News?” Thadius asked. “What news is it you speak
of?”

Yarin licked his lips. “I work for the watch. Two days ago we
received one of the king’s carrier pigeons. It was one of many sent
out, it would seem, to many of the towns in Aralia.” The others
leaned forward as he spoke. “The note informed us to keep a look
out for you by name, and that you would be travelling with two
others: a young girl and a man.”

“
Has
something happened in Rina?” Josephine interrupted.

Yarin shook his head. “The note did not go into
great detail. But it said that if you were seen we were to report
it back for attention of Captain Tiberius in Rina that we had found
you. We were also asked to warn you Thadius, if possible, that you
and the
princess
are in great danger.”