The Complete Conclave of Shadows Trilogy: Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, Exile’s Return

She tried not to look amused. ‘Ah, I’ve hurt your feelings.’ Playfully, she kissed his cheek. ‘I’ll have to make it up to you.’

Instantly his mood lightened. ‘How?’

She spun away from him. ‘Clean up the sink for me, and if you come to my room tonight, I’ll show you.’

Lars entered the kitchen carrying a large quarter of beef. ‘This is the last of the winter’s storage,’ he announced. ‘Cold room is empty.’ The cold room was an underground storage area Kendrick had built. It was frozen solid like everything else during the winter, and any provisions put in it were also frozen quickly. But in the spring it was slow to thaw, keeping anything inside frozen until spring was past and into summer and keeping things very cold from then to the next snowfall.

Leo said, ‘We’ll have to plan a trip to Latagore. We need to buy cattle as well as provisions.’

Talon said to Leo, ‘May I go?’

Leo scratched his chin for a moment. ‘Don’t know, boy. That would be up to Robert, I assume. I’d be glad for the company, but usually I go with Kendrick or one of the lads.’

Lars hung the beef on the hook, pulled out a large knife and began to cut the meat. ‘Why do you want to go, Talon?’

‘I’ve never been to a city,’ said Talon. ‘I’d like to see one.’

‘Well, then,’ said Leo. ‘I’ll ask Robert what he thinks about it.’

As Talon finished cleaning up the vegetable waste left in the sink by Lela, he considered which was making him feel the most anticipation, visiting Lela after supper or visiting a city.

Talon watched as the lake appeared as if by magic once they crested the rise. They had come down out of the higher reaches of the sprawling forest of Latagore, known as the Greatwoods, into rolling hills and through half a dozen small valleys until they had entered a deep ravine, cut through by a small, but fast-running river. The landscape to their left was blocked from their view by a rising cliff face of stone and hard-packed earth, from which rose stubborn brush gripping for all it was worth. Off to the right, the land fell away rapidly, revealing the river gap, and in the distance there was a hint of blue which must surely be the Great Lake of Latagore.

Talon was fascinated by everything he saw and was content to ride in silence. Which was a good thing, given that Caleb had been selected to go to market by Kendrick, for reasons not given to Talon.

Talon had lived at Kendrick’s long enough to have puzzled out a few things about the odd relationships between those who worked at the inn and those who stayed there. Kendrick owned and ran the inn, of that there was no doubt. Robert held some position of authority, relative to Kendrick, but Talon wasn’t quite sure what it was. Robert and Pasko would leave the inn, for weeks at a time – once for two months – then return and reside there for a while. They were currently leaving on another journey and would be gone from the inn by the time Talon returned.

Talon had tried to understand the relationships at the inn in terms of his own people for quite a while, until he decided that trying to do this was proving to be an impediment to understanding. He knew Kendrick had a son somewhere, who was rarely mentioned. He knew Leo and Martha were man and wife, but without children of their own. He also knew that Lars and Meggie were occasionally lovers, though they seemed to be going through one of their many periods of barely talking to one another. And he knew that although everyone else considered him Lela’s man, he was still unsure what Lela thought about it. He had puzzled out other relationships among the servants at the inn – those who resided either at the inn itself or on one of the nearby farms Kendrick owned in order to supply the inn with vegetables. But much of it still seemed alien to him; despite feeling some kinship with the kitchen staff at Kendrick’s, he felt isolated, deprived of the traditional ties of family and clan.

He turned his mind away from that; dwelling on his lost past only led to despair and he knew he must make the best out of what life offered him. He watched the lake grow in size as they approached; then, as they crested another rise, he saw the city of Latagore.

The midday sun threw the city into sharp contrast: edges and lines, shapes and contours. Talon’s eye almost refused to define the chaos of it; then order began to emerge. Kendrick’s had been the largest man-made structure he had seen so far, and the sheer scope of the city nearly overwhelmed his senses. The city rested upon the shore of an inlet, miles across, which gave it the appearance of having been set down by some giant hand in a crook of the shoreline.

Caleb glanced over and saw Talon agape. ‘What do you see?’

Talon knew that question. Robert asked it all the time, as did Marcus when he was tutoring Talon. It wasn’t about his impressions or feelings, but rather the detail of what he observed: facts as Robert put it.

Talon instantly became analytical. ‘The city has a wall around it, extending into the water … I’d judge a hundred yards or more into the water.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘There’s a large building in the middle of the city that rises high enough to overlook everything for miles. I don’t know what it’s called.’

‘It’s called a citadel. It was once a castle erected to defend this lake shore. The city grew up around it.’

‘There are five large … things that stick out into the water.’

‘Docks.’

Talon’s eyes wandered for a moment and then he was struck by the size of the lake. Surely this couldn’t be just a lake. It must be a sea.

Caleb’s voice jerked him out of his reverie. ‘What else?’

Talon began to list the details that appeared to his almost supernatural sight. Each time he encountered something alien he would struggle to describe it, Caleb would supply the word and he would move on.

As they passed down the road, heading towards the plain upon which the city rested, Talon lost his vantage point and was forced to rely upon memory. When they reached a stand of trees which cut off all sight of the city, Caleb said, ‘You did well. You missed things, but you’re new to this business of paying attention.’

‘Paying attention to what?’ asked Talon.

Caleb smiled – a rare occurrence – and he said, ‘Why to everything. You pay attention to everything.’

‘Why?’

They worked their way along the road, through the woods and past a meadow as Talon waited for his answer. At last Caleb said, ‘When you hunt, to what do you pay attention to?’

‘To everything,’ answered Talon. ‘The direction of the wind, the scents upon the air, the sounds of the woods, to anything that has left tracks.’

Caleb nodded. ‘Always think of yourself as being on the hunt.’

‘Always?’ asked Talon.

‘Always.’

‘Why?’

‘Because it’ll keep you alive,’ said Caleb.

They rode in silence for another hour before reaching a crossroads and an inn. It was an hour after midday and Caleb said, ‘We’ll rest the horses and eat here. Then we’ll be in the city by supper.’

Talon had no argument. They had spent two days on the road, and while sleeping under the wagon had been no burden, he welcomed the idea of a hot meal.

The inn was a tiny place, a way-stop for those few people who either found themselves just a little too late in the day to reach Latagore or who, like Caleb and Talon, were stopping for a midday meal. The sign above the door showed a man holding a pitchfork in one hand and a large mug in the other. The paint on the sign was faded, but Talon could see that the man’s expression was one of sublime happiness.

‘What is this place?’ he asked Caleb quietly as the wagon ground to a halt.

‘It is called the Happy Farmer Inn.’

Hearing the wagon, a boy appeared from out the back and listened as Caleb instructed him on how to take care of the two horses. As the wagon was empty, the horses were still fit and required only water and some hay. They would need more rest and grain on the long climb back up into the hills with the wagon loaded.

Caleb led Talon into the inn and crossed to an empty table in the corner. He removed his black slouch hat and adjusted the sword at his side so that he could sit comfortably at the table, and then motioned for Talon to sit down opposite him.

A middle-aged woman with an agreeable manner approached and asked their pleasure. Caleb ordered a meal and ale for both of them and then sat back to observe the other customers.

The common room was quiet, with only four other men taking their midday ease. Two were obviously traders of some fashion, portly men in sturdy but finely-fashioned travel clothing. The other two sat at the next table, heads together, speaking quietly. They appeared to be fighting men of some stripe; both wore simple clothing – tunics, trousers and over-jackets – but no jewellery was evident to Talon. However, their boots and weapons were well cared for, which Talon took to mean they spent a lot of time walking and fighting.

Food was brought and Talon and Caleb ate in silence. The meal wasn’t as good as what was served at Kendrick’s, but it was filling and the young man found the ale satisfactory.

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.

Instead the man lay on the ground clutching at his stomach. Blood fountained through his fingers and he looked at Talon. ‘Look what you’ve done to me! You’ve killed me!’

Talon kept his sword in his hand as he went and knelt next to the man. ‘That blade behind the buckle?’ he asked.

‘Damn thing never worked,’ said the injured man. ‘Now I’m bleeding like a stuck pig.’

Caleb had turned the wagon around and driven back to where Talon and the other two men waited. Talon pushed aside the wounded man’s hands and disengaged the buckle. He pulled out the blade, a three-inch-long piece of sharp steel with a ‘t’ cross handle; it was designed to slip out of the buckle and sit between the two middle fingers of the hand, the handle resting on the palm. It would be a dangerous jabbing weapon.

Caleb said to the merchant, ‘Are you hurt?’

The man held his hand over his bleeding shoulder. ‘I’ll live, no thanks to that blackheart.’ He was a stocky man with a balding pate, a fringe of grey hair circling the back of his head. His eyes were dark and his chin sported a tiny beard.

Caleb got down from the wagon and came to stand beside Talon. He looked down at the mercenary on the ground, at the knife and the wound and said, ‘You’ll live to hang. That little blade didn’t cut too deep.’

He took the palm-knife from Talon, cut off some cloth from the mercenary’s shirt and wadded it up. ‘Press it hard against the wound with both your hands.’ To Talon he said, ‘Help me get him in the back of the wagon.’

Between them they got the wounded would-be robber in the back of the wagon. Then Caleb took a look at the merchant’s shoulder. After a moment he said, ‘You’ll be fine.’

‘Why are you helping?’ he asked. ‘I mean, thank you for saving me, but why?’

Caleb nodded towards Talon, who had taken up a position in the back of the wagon next to the wounded man. ‘My young friend there has a streak of decency in him, I fear. He objects to murder, it seems.’

‘Well, then thanks to the gods you both came along.’

‘Let’s get on to Latagore,’ said Caleb. ‘You ride up front with me.’

‘I’m Dustin Webanks, merchant from Olasko. I was travelling to Latagore with my partner to purchase lumber.’

‘And those two you hired sought to rob you of your gold.’

‘Foolishly, yes. We carry no gold. We have letters of credit from the Royal Bursar in Opardum to make purchase on account.’

‘So, you represent the Duke, then?’

Climbing gingerly up to the wagon, he said, ‘Yes. Duke Kaspar is building a new hunting lodge, and he likes some wood carvings he’s seen somewhere or another. Must have a particular wood for them, a wood that appears only to be harvested from the forests up here in Latagore. Hence, the journey.’

Caleb shrugged, as if it was of no matter to him. ‘Your friend will send back the city guard for you, I expect.’

‘Most likely,’ said Dustin.

‘Then they can escort us to the city, friend merchant.’

They all fell silent, each considering the events of the last few minutes. Talon looked at the prisoner, who appeared to be lost in some dark reflection on his plan going bad and wondered what had possessed the man to attempt to rob the merchant. Then he decided it might better serve him to discover what had caused him to act in such a rash fashion to aid a stranger.

• CHAPTER SIX •

Latagore

TALON GAWKED.

He had remained silent as they had approached the city, reaching one of the western gates an hour before nightfall. He had been astonished at the size of Latagore as they had drawn near, but as they reached the outer boundaries of the city, he was dumbfounded.

Nothing in his experience had prepared him for the sight of so many people living so close to one another. The bustle and noise threatened to overwhelm him at first, then he began to drink in the sights and sounds.

Peddlers hovered near the gates of the city, hawking a variety of wares to any within the sound of their voices – trinkets, good luck tokens, items whose nature was unknown to Talon. Many who approached were ragged beggars, offering blessings to those who would aide them and curses to those who ignored them.

Caleb glanced over at the speechless lad and said, ‘Better close your mouth before a bird builds a nest in it.’

‘So many people,’ Talon gasped.

Dustin Webanks looked over his shoulder at the boy. ‘Never been to a city before?’

‘No, sir.’

The prisoner, who’d been content to ride along in sullen silence, except for an occasional grunt of pain when the wagon bounced especially hard, said, ‘This is nothing, boy. If you ever get down to Opardum or Kalesh’kaar, then you’d be seeing something. Latagore here is hardly big enough to rightly be called a city. More like an oversized town.’

Caleb grunted. ‘Big enough city to have a guard and plenty of rope.’ To Talon he said, ‘This gate’s the one you want when coming into the city. Most of the locals use it, because the other gates are used by travellers and caravans, so getting through takes time. That’s why it’s called the Locals’ Gate.’

‘How many gates are there?’ asked Talon, thinking of the simple stockade around his village with its single gate.

‘I believe this city has twenty … four? Yes, twenty-four gates.’

They pulled into a queue of people waiting to be admitted to the city before night fell and the gates were closed. Only two wagons and a band of men on horseback were in front of them, so they quickly reached the portal.

‘Ho, Roderick!’ shouted Caleb as he reined in.

‘Caleb!’ cried a soldier in the deep forest green uniform of the city. ‘You here to sell or buy?’

‘Buying,’ said Caleb. ‘We’re empty coming in.’

The soldier motioned him through.

Caleb said, ‘Can we drop off a bandit?’

A quick discussion with the soldier resulted in their prisoner being taken away. Dustin Webanks left them as well, to press charges with the magistrate, promising them a reward should they seek him out the next day at the Sign of the Running Footman.

Caleb drove the wagon through the city, heading to an inn where those from Kendrick’s stayed when they were in the city. As darkness fell, they reached a cheery-looking building with a large stabling yard on the right. The sign hung outside it showed a man throwing balls into the air while blindfolded. A young man of roughly the same age as Talon appeared at the sound of the wagon’s arrival.

‘Ho, Caleb!’ he shouted, upon seeing who was driving the wagon.

‘Jacob!’ Caleb returned.

The young man had sandy hair and a raw-boned, rangy look. He wore a simple cotton shirt and leather trousers, with heavy work boots. He took the horses in hand and said, ‘Who’s your friend?’

‘Talon, this is Jacob.’

Talon nodded and jumped down from the wagon.

‘Father will be glad to see you,’ said Jacob. ‘He’s got some more hunting stories for you.’

‘He found time to go hunting?’ asked Caleb.