Hero Wars
Issaries, Inc. |
The Travels of Biturian VaroshThe Storm Bulls of the Block
Barzaad Storm Kahn himself came to guide us to the Block,
where I hoped to trade for some of that precious stone. He brought four warriors.
He and two of his men rode sables, one rode a high llama, and the last rode
a zebra.
There were many pilgrims seeking escort to the holy place as well, and they had all placed themselves under my protection. Morak said we should go without escort, but I did not want to pass so close to the dread Devil's Marsh without someone to fight chaos. Morak thought he could do it alone, wearing a slave collar, but Morak always talked so. A merchant from Apple Lane had once told me that Kahn Barzaad had a weakness for sugar, and I'd prepared myself for him. He received five kilos of grain sugar and a liter of honey as a gift, while each warrior got a two-liter jug of beer. After a full morning of negotiation, wherein we passed much time in talking just of the wars in Dragon Pass, we agreed on a price: 20 Lunars a day for him, 10 per day for his Initiates, all food, fodder, and water, and double payment for any day they fought chaos. I made it clear I would not pay for fighting other plains people, nor would I chase the souls of the dead. The pilgrims agreed they would help heal any wounds of the Storm Bull men. I made it clear that we must make the trip in two days without combat, and they agreed. The first night out, with the top of the Block already seeming to loom overhead, Barzaad said he wanted one of my mules in payment as well. I refused, but after defying him a while I said I'd trade one to him. He offered me two thumb-sized pieces of red Truestone. I couldn't resist, and we closed the deal. He and his friends then killed and cooked the mule, gorging themselves tremendously as the pilgrims looked on in disgust, fear, or hunger, according to their cults. About midnight, I was awakened by Barzaad, who complained loudly that I had cheated him. He said the meat had made all of them sick, and he swung his sword around, chopping holes in my tent to prove it. His warriors all nodded and belched in agreement. The pilgrims vanished into the night, preferring the unknown dangers of the dark desert rather than the angry Storm Bull berserkers. I had only two other warriors, five baboons, and two slaves to resist his argument. Morak growled and yapped like a dog. I would have thought him a werewolf, but it was not Animal Night of the week yet. I ordered the baboons to silence him and one did so with a spear-butt blow on the head. This made the Storm Kahn laugh and, when he turned back to me, I grudgingly agreed to pay back Barzaad half the meat price, but they must have dog-meat instead. Barzaad thought that was even funnier and grabbed Morak as if to tear him apart for cooking. That's when they found the horns on Morak's head, and dropped him in surprise. Abruptly they agreed to my price and I returned one stone. Norayeep would not tell me what scared them as she tended her brother. I was glad for his foolishness that time, and glad he wasn't hurt, and so did not press the matter. The pilgrims sneaked back into camp after the excitement. At the Block, I traded and got four blank pieces of Truestone. Later I sold the red one to a pilgrim who I had escorted for 1500 Lunars. The trip was profitable, and I parted from the Storm Kahn with kindness and satisfaction. |
