An Aimless War - Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Tannix constantly had things he had to do. Sometimes he was asked to attend meetings, sometimes it was dinners with important guests, sometimes he spent time with his father in the office. I spent a lot of time every day with the knights in their little courtyard. Seeing me climb had changed something, almost as if they realized that despite how fragile I might have looked, there was more to me. They all acted like brothers, and I quickly became the little brother.
Acen and the younger three I already liked. It took me a couple of days to warm up to Jalor and Mandell. They were older and more intimidating—Mandell because of his size, and Jalor because of just how much of a proper Telt he was. But they were both friendly. One day Jalor brought Fiar into the courtyard, and let me toss bits of meat for the bird to catch.
Mandell, I had realized, didn't talk very often. But I thought he might talk to me if I asked the right questions. He was leaning against the half-wall one day, watching Evrik and Acen fight, and I took my chance. I hopped up to sit on the wall beside him.
"Mandell?"
He looked at me, which was about as much of an answer as I had expected.
"You're half-Telt, aren't you? Me too. At least, I think I am." I shrugged and pressed on with my actual question. "So... I didn't think many Native Zians lived on New Teltar."
Mandell nodded. "Not many," he agreed.
"Evrik told me that you were a farmer?"
He nodded again. "Lots of us are farmers. Probably all of us. When the Zians came to New Teltar, they mingled with the poor Teltans. So... I'm not really half-Telt. Not like you are. Way back my family was, but now we're just mixed up. We're both."
That didn't quite make sense to me. Even though I had always thought I was half-Telt by blood, when it came down to what was actually important I thought of myself as fully Native Zian. It didn't make sense to be both. "But what about..." I had to pause to figure out how to politely pose my next question. I finally settled for the simplest way to say it. "What do you believe in? Zianesa and the others, or the Teltish Goddess?"
"Both."
That made even less sense. "What? How?"
He smiled so briefly I almost missed it. "Long ago, there were two sisters. They were separated, and even though they both searched, they could not find each other. Eventually they each founded great kingdoms. The people in the kingdoms loved their patronesses so much, that each sister became a goddess. One was named Zianesa by her people. The other was simply called the Goddess."
I wasn't sure how I felt about the story, or the implication that Zianesa was not one of the Triplets with Roe and Kitsa. But listening to the story couldn't hurt. Surely Zianesa wouldn't mind me listening.
"When the Teltans came," Mandell continued. "The Sisters saw each other across the water, and they were overjoyed. They were finally brought together. That is what we believe." He smiled warmly. "I understand if you don't like the story."
"It's not that... It's just... wrong."
Mandell shrugged. "We can all believe different things, and still be a family. I don't believe the same thing as Tannix, Acen, Evrik and Jalor. The twins believe in something else completely different. We can respect those differences even if we don't agree."
Mandell was the last person I would have expected to have such a profound conversation with. But I thought of Tannix encouraging me to pray to Roe on the ship, and the way he had agreed when Ninavi said the gods had helped free me. I nodded. "You're right. We can."
"All right, Finn!" Acen interrupted, calling across the courtyard. He had apparently finished his duel with Evrik. "Come here, let's see if we can teach you to fight."
"Uh... you probably can't. Tannix has tried," I replied.
"Tannix is an excellent swordsman," Acen said with a nod. "But I'm an excellent instructor. That's part of why I'm the captain. So come here."
Mandell gave me a friendly nudge and nodded. With a barely contained groan I hopped off of the half-wall.
Acen kept trying to find a weapon I would be good with over the next few days. Swords were awkward and he didn't like that I kept wanting to use my left hand. Evrik's axe and shield combination was too heavy and I didn't like having both of my hands full. We didn't bother trying Mandell's various flails or maces. Those were too heavy for most of the knights, let alone me. The twins tried to teach me archery, but when I couldn't even pull back on the string they had to try to find me a smaller bow. The draw weight was too high, was how they described it.
The cook, Lalina, made sure I ate well. She treated me, as she did all of the younger household servants, like her child. I found I didn't mind it. The servants got used to me being around and I got used to acting the way I was supposed to. I gained weight, and the tunics Tannix had bought for me finally fit properly.
Tannix and I rarely had time alone. He was always trailed by one of the knights, and they took their job quite seriously. The only time we were really alone was at night. When I would muss up the covers on my bed to fool the servants the next morning, before crawling into his bed and getting comfortable in his arms.
Tannix's brother, Tandrin, eventually visited almost two months after he was supposed to. After spending most of the day with their family, the two young lords met the rest of us in the training courtyard.
I was the first to notice them, and I jumped to my feet. I liked Tandrin, but that wasn't why I was so excited to see him. I jogged across the courtyard to reach them before any of the knights could strike up a conversation.
"Tandrin, thank you for freeing Castin. How is he? Have you seen him recently?" I asked in a rush.
Tandrin chuckled and shot Tannix a look. "You were right, little brother."
"Of course I was. Why would he ask you about anything else?"
"Yes, I have been checking up on him and the others." Tandrin finally answered me. "Last I saw him he was fine. I even gave him some money to help take care of that baby of his. He's what, fifteen or so? He's far too young to have a baby."
"My mother was his age," I pointed out. "It isn't unusual for us."
Identical looks of surprise crossed their faces. Obviously I had never told Tannix that specific detail. Luckily, before I had to explain myself further, Acen joined us.
"Welcome back to West Draulin, my lord."
"Thank you, Sir Atricen," Tandrin said.
"Where's Sir Eppson?" Acen asked.
"On break. I'm safe enough with Sir Mandell and my brother, don't you think?"
Acen nodded. "Certainly, my lord."
"Excellent. Finn," Tandrin suddenly addressed me again, catching me off guard. "You're looking healthy. Lalina's been good to you, I see?"
"Very," I agreed.
"Are you excited to go to your first tavern?" he asked.
"What?" I glanced at Tannix, surprised by both the question and the assumption that I had never been to a tavern. "What's happening?"
"We're going out to a tavern, because Tandrin's offered to pay," Tannix said. "Acen, gather the men. Tandrin's paying for everyone."
The tavern was fairly small and crowded—not the kind of place I thought a lord and his knights would want to go, but it was clearly a favourite spot. The men and few women in the tavern greeted us warmly as we walked across the worn, wooden floors to a long table near the back of the room. As we sat down, I found myself settling between Tannix and Acen on a long bench, with our backs to the wall. Tandrin was on Tannix's other side. It was probably done on purpose, I realized, so that no one could sneak up behind either of the lords.
They all, with the exception of Acen, ordered large tankards of ale. Tannix even ordered me one, but I stared at it warily and didn't touch it. I had seen more than enough drunk people to know that I didn't want to feel that way. For a while things were fairly uneventful. The men were talking about weapons or training or other things I didn't pay attention to. But once they'd all had a few drinks, it started to get more interesting.
Tannix, a little drunker than he had probably planned on getting, draped an arm over my shoulders with a familiarity that we kept private. I shrugged off his arm and turned to Acen.
"Why aren't you drinking?"
He was sitting still, his arms crossed over his chest. In response, he gestured at the other men. "It was an agreement we made years ago. Every time we go to a tavern, one of us will not drink. Somebody's got to be alert enough to protect Tannix, and the rest of us, if something were to happen. Why aren't you drinking?"
I shrugged and looked at the tankard. "Drunk men tend to be idiots. I've never been able to risk becoming an idiot."
Acen chuckled. "Fair enough. But there's no need to look at it like it'll leap out and attack you. And sometimes it can be fun to become a bit of a blundering idiot. Speaking of which." He stretched and rapped his knuckles on the table in front of Kor. "Korander. Put it away."
Kor, bewildered, looked at the knife he was gesturing with. "Oh. Sorry, sir. Mate. Ender," he tucked the knife away. "Ender, mate, order us another round."
Ender stood, gripping Kor's shoulder like it was the only thing supporting him. "Magalin!"
The barmaid who had been dealing with our table all evening walked over, carrying a wooden tray of empty tankards. "What is it?" With a clearly practiced gesture, she put a hand on Ender's shoulder and pushed him down so that he was sitting again. "Another drink, already?"
"Aye," Kor said, reaching around Ender to take Magalin's hand. "Dear, sweet Maggie, when will you realize that you love me as much as I love you?"
"You love me because I bring you ale, nothing more," Magalin replied with a smile. She pulled her hand away from Kor and began to pick up some of the empty tankards.
"In any case, Maggie will be marrying me," Ender spoke up, "Isn't that right, my beloved?"
"I can only marry one of you. You'll have to decide for yourselves who it is," Magalin teased. She looked across the table, catching Acen's eye. "They're in a good mood tonight."
"And as always, I apologize on their behalf," Acen said.
Magalin laughed. "And as I always tell you, they're having fun and I don't mind. They're more polite about it than most of the men I serve, anyhow."
"We'll leave a very generous tip, all the same."
"Ah. That's the reason you knights are my favourite customers."
"Maggie," Kor said, once again trying to take her hand. "Maggie, the most beautiful woman in the entire tavern. No, the entire city! Your hair and eyes sparkle in the light from the fire."
"Kor," Ender scoffed. "You think beauty is all she has? Look how strong she is, to carry that heavy tray. Let me help you—" he started to get up, but she put her hand on his shoulder again.
"I can handle it just fine." Still easily holding the tray, she stepped around Ender to stand between the brothers. "I'll bring you some more ale while you decide who gets to marry me." She kissed Ender's cheek, then Kor's, before walking away with her tray.
The twins immediately started to discuss who would get to marry Magalin. I looked at Acen. "Do they bother her every time you come here?"
"Yes, they do. Sometimes Evrik will join in. But she likes us well enough or she would have us kicked out. And they do get oddly romantic and terribly poetic when they're drunk, unlike some men who would just try to grope her." He hesitated, his eyes scanning the tavern. "We've all come to her rescue at some point or another, hers and the other barmaids. That's another reason they like our company."
Tannix leaned in closer to us. "There was this incident, once, when some foreign trader had pulled Magalin onto his lap and was trying to kiss her. Acen marched over, took her from him, and punched him in the face. Once the man got to his feet he tried to attack Acen. Obviously an enormous mistake."
Acen nodded. "Yes, it really was. But you weren't even here when that happened."
"Kor and Ender told me one of the times they visited Zianna with Roland," Tannix said. "I asked them for updates on all of you and that was the story they decided to tell. I wasn't even a little bit surprised that their update about you involved you doing something noble."
Acen laughed, but his attention immediately shifted when Kor pulled out his knife again.
Tannix draped his arm over my shoulders again, and this time pulled me closer. He ducked his head to whisper in my ear. "You're very lucky, you know."
"Why's that?" I asked, watching the knights warily. None of them paid us any attention.
"Because..." he hesitated like he had to remember what he was going to say. "Because I could be much more drunk than I am."
"Why does that make me lucky?" I asked, deciding it was safe enough to humour him.
"Because if I was more drunk, I would probably have done something very inappropriate by now. Given our current company."
I thought about that, then shook my head. "I think that means you're lucky. Considering that you're the one with a reputation," I pointed out. "If you did something inappropriate, no one would talk about me. They'd all talk about you."
I felt his arm tense, and I thought my words had upset him, until he muttered, "Don't tempt me, Finagale. I'm drunk enough to be easily persuaded."
"Good to know. I'm not above blackmail."
"You wouldn't."
I shrugged playfully. "I don't know, Tannix. Maybe you shouldn't tempt me."
He scowled at me for a moment, and then gently pushed me away. "Well, very clearly I can't speak to you for the rest of the night, on the off chance that I might say something tempting." He picked up his tankard and took a long gulp, before turning his attention to Tandrin and Mandell.
Mandell was in the middle of telling Tandrin a story. "—but my family still needed me to make money, so I joined the army. Then when Lord West Draulin was picking Tannix's guard, he saw me wrestling another man and he was amazed by my strength!"
"That isn't how it happened, Mandell!" Evrik, sitting at the other end of the table, called out. "I saw it. You walked up to the front of the line and, right in front of Lord West Draulin, told your captain that you were a better soldier than him. He was so furious that he probably would have had you flogged if Lord West Draulin hadn't asked you to demonstrate your skills. You almost got yourself killed but he was impressed and agreed to let you try out, just like the rest of us."
"You, trying out?" Mandell asked. "You were accepted instantly when you did your little axe trick."
"Shall I demonstrate?" Evrik got to his feet, and slipped three of his little axes from their pouches on his belt. Not too far away from us, there was a painted circle on the wall that looked like it had endured this sort of abuse before.
As other tavern guests noticed what was going on, they fell silent. Until one man started chanting Evrik's name, and then others joined in. It was apparently a common occurrence. Evrik bowed dramatically. Taking one axe in his right hand, he drew it back and tossed it. It thudded into the wood, and the tavern erupted into cheers.
"Are you going to stop him?" I whispered to Acen, as Evrik was preparing to throw his second axe.
"His aim is remarkable, even while drunk," Acen said, sounding fairly resigned to what was going on. "It's safer to let him finish than to try to stop him."
Another cheer rang out, as well as some clapping. Evrik's second axe had buried into the wall right next to the first one. A moment later the third one slammed in beside the other two. The cheer was almost deafening. Evrik was bowing. Then he turned and gestured for me to join him.
"Come, Finn. Show off your new skills."
"No," I protested as my stomach jumped nervously. No one knew that I actually had taken to a weapon, or that Evrik had been teaching me. "I'm not that good," I added, hoping he'd agree and drop it.
"You're better than any of these men," he pointed out.
The knights all looked confused and curious. Despite how nervous I felt, I sort of did like the idea of showing off. I stood, and shuffled past Acen. When I walked around the table to join Evrik, he was already holding two of his small knives out for me.
I took a deep breath and accepted them. Nobody but Evrik had seen me use the throwing knives before. I stared at the wall, trying to figure out how much power to put into the throw. I held the knife lightly, drew back my hand, and threw it.
It collided with the wall and clattered to the floor. I knew why. The blade hadn't hit the wood at the right angle. The tavern was completely silent as everyone watched me. I tried to ignore that and let my nervousness fade away. I drew back my hand again, but this time I didn't think too much about the throw itself. As soon as I let go of the knife I could tell the throw was better.
The thud as it stuck to the wall seemed, in that moment, like the most beautiful sound in the world.
A cheer broke out again. Evrik, grinning widely, clapped my shoulder. "I knew you could do it!"
Once Evrik had collected his axes and knives, and things had settled down again, I slipped back into my spot between Tannix and Acen. Tannix still looked completely shocked.
"What was that?"
"I've been practicing with Evrik," I said. "It was a secret. I'll show you more when we're not in a tavern. I guess I'm not as useless with a blade as you thought."
"I guess not," Tannix said, still sounding awed.
After another round of drinks, Tandrin pulled a deck of cards from his pocket. "A game of Stampede, gentlemen?"
The men all heartily agreed. Tandrin passed out cards before placing the remainder in the centre of the table. Beside it, he dropped two brass siyas. The men all added their own coins to the pile. I quietly watched them play. They passed cards to each other, occasionally took money from the pile in the middle or added more. Tannix and Jalor were having the best luck. Their personal piles of coins were bigger than any of the others.
When it wasn't his turn, I nudged Tannix. "Can I borrow twenty siyas?"
"You want to play?"
I nodded, and gave him my most convincing smile. "You'll probably just win the money back, anyway."
Tannix smiled. "All right." He tossed two more brass siyas into the centre, announcing, "Finn's in. Take five cards."
I took them from the pile. The game kept going, and at first it didn't seem like me joining had made a big difference. Mandell had given up, as had Kor. Jalor and Tannix were still winning. We passed around more cards and siyas were moved.
Then, I placed my five cards down on the table, face up.
"Stampede."
Every pair of eyes at the table stared at my cards. It slowly dawned on each of them that I had won.
"I believe all that money's mine," I said idly, gesturing at the pile in the middle of the table.
"How did you do that?" Jalor asked. "Tannix, did you help him?"
Tannix shook his head. For the second time that evening, he was looking at me in awe. "How did you—"
I leaned across the table and slid all of the coins closer to my spot. "There are three ways to earn money in the lower city. Thievery, prostitution, and gambling. I happen to be very good at two of those things." I grinned. "This isn't the first time I've played Stampede."
The men were all grumbling, but I could tell they were impressed. Tannix stared at me for a moment longer. "I suddenly feel like I know nothing about you."
I smiled and picked up my tankard. "You don't."