to do.
“Why thank you,” Jared said and then paused as if unsure of how to proceed. “M-lord. This is very kind of you,” he finished while trying on the rawhide boots.
“Think nothing of it,” Daniel replied. “It was the neighborly thing to do. For the record, I’m not a lord so feel free to use my first name.”
The former account keeper nodded acknowledgement and gingerly lowered the straw hat onto his sunburned head. The wide-brimmed hat fit him well enough, better than the boots, Daniel’s feet were bigger; the man would need to stuff something soft in front of his toes to wear them properly.
Silvia returned just as Jared was walking back and forth, trying out his new footwear. She had three rabbits, one in each hand and the last hanging from her belt. This was more meat than three people needed. She must have heard David. She confirmed this by saying, “I would have been back sooner but it suddenly occurred to me that we might need two more rabbits.”
Jared and Marcus stared hungrily, licking their lips at the approach of what promised to be good eating. Daniel knew how to field dress a kill since early childhood but allowed Silvia and David to prepare the meal, which took little time with two of them doing the skinning and gutting. Before long, all three rabbits were turning on spits over the fire, and everyone was gathered in a circle.
“You heard me?” David spoke in a soft voice.
Silvia cracked a smile. “No one ever said the Gerabolli have weak lungs. You might make master-of-the-ring some day.”
David looked at her sideways, as if examining each word for an insult, finding none he smiled and said, “Perhaps, but there is another designation I would rather have.”
“What might that be?” she inquired.
“Your husband,” he replied evenly.
Silvia pursed her lips thoughtfully, not long ago she was giving him thunder about presuming she wanted him. “Perhaps?” was all she said, without even gesturing with her arms, and with a far better response than her suitor expected.
Daniel admitted to himself he was a little surprised by the change in attitude. It was clear to him the Teki woman was not completely against marrying this particular young man, she was keeping an open mind on the prospect, yet not quite ready to accept him. Jared had some convincing to do but at least he now knew he had a chance with her. The juggler nodded his head and went on to speak of the Great Carnival.
Daniel, Silvia, and David shared a rabbit, Jared and Marcus each had one. The former chief of the men-at-arms must have spent his career guarding the estate and having his meals prepared for him. The same was probably true for the former account keeper. With no food, no money, and no skill at living off the land, they likely ate very little since leaving the employ of their former lord.
“Our troop visited Keffer Greens three years ago,” Silvia began to say. “Even with the rank and insignias gone, I recognize the uniform of their men-at-arms. How came you to be so far from home a nd in such dire circumstances?”
Daniel remembered that Keffer Greens was in the far northwest corner of the kingdom. It was a major port city on the inland Taltin Sea, which shared borders with Ducaun and its neighbor to the west, Battencay, the northwestern kingdom of Fon Kay, and the northern kingdom of Pentrosa. The ovoid shaped sea was about nine hundred spans wide and slightly over three hundred spans from its southern most point in Battencay and its northern most point in Fon Kay. The vast majority of the sea coast belonged to those two kingdoms with Ducaun and Pentrosa controlling the eastern side to about a hundred spans out.
Jared hesitated, but Marcus seeing this, spoke up. “I’ll tell you. Lord Sharmine dismissed us because we witnessed his humiliation at the gates of Aakadon. The moment we entered the city of Zane, he hired new men-at-arms and left behind the twenty of us who had accompanied him, twenty-one
“Why thank you,” Jared said and then paused as if unsure of how to proceed. “M-lord. This is very kind of you,” he finished while trying on the rawhide boots.
“Think nothing of it,” Daniel replied. “It was the neighborly thing to do. For the record, I’m not a lord so feel free to use my first name.”
The former account keeper nodded acknowledgement and gingerly lowered the straw hat onto his sunburned head. The wide-brimmed hat fit him well enough, better than the boots, Daniel’s feet were bigger; the man would need to stuff something soft in front of his toes to wear them properly.
Silvia returned just as Jared was walking back and forth, trying out his new footwear. She had three rabbits, one in each hand and the last hanging from her belt. This was more meat than three people needed. She must have heard David. She confirmed this by saying, “I would have been back sooner but it suddenly occurred to me that we might need two more rabbits.”
Jared and Marcus stared hungrily, licking their lips at the approach of what promised to be good eating. Daniel knew how to field dress a kill since early childhood but allowed Silvia and David to prepare the meal, which took little time with two of them doing the skinning and gutting. Before long, all three rabbits were turning on spits over the fire, and everyone was gathered in a circle.
“You heard me?” David spoke in a soft voice.
Silvia cracked a smile. “No one ever said the Gerabolli have weak lungs. You might make master-of-the-ring some day.”
David looked at her sideways, as if examining each word for an insult, finding none he smiled and said, “Perhaps, but there is another designation I would rather have.”
“What might that be?” she inquired.
“Your husband,” he replied evenly.
Silvia pursed her lips thoughtfully, not long ago she was giving him thunder about presuming she wanted him. “Perhaps?” was all she said, without even gesturing with her arms, and with a far better response than her suitor expected.
Daniel admitted to himself he was a little surprised by the change in attitude. It was clear to him the Teki woman was not completely against marrying this particular young man, she was keeping an open mind on the prospect, yet not quite ready to accept him. Jared had some convincing to do but at least he now knew he had a chance with her. The juggler nodded his head and went on to speak of the Great Carnival.
Daniel, Silvia, and David shared a rabbit, Jared and Marcus each had one. The former chief of the men-at-arms must have spent his career guarding the estate and having his meals prepared for him. The same was probably true for the former account keeper. With no food, no money, and no skill at living off the land, they likely ate very little since leaving the employ of their former lord.
“Our troop visited Keffer Greens three years ago,” Silvia began to say. “Even with the rank and insignias gone, I recognize the uniform of their men-at-arms. How came you to be so far from home a nd in such dire circumstances?”
Daniel remembered that Keffer Greens was in the far northwest corner of the kingdom. It was a major port city on the inland Taltin Sea, which shared borders with Ducaun and its neighbor to the west, Battencay, the northwestern kingdom of Fon Kay, and the northern kingdom of Pentrosa. The ovoid shaped sea was about nine hundred spans wide and slightly over three hundred spans from its southern most point in Battencay and its northern most point in Fon Kay. The vast majority of the sea coast belonged to those two kingdoms with Ducaun and Pentrosa controlling the eastern side to about a hundred spans out.
Jared hesitated, but Marcus seeing this, spoke up. “I’ll tell you. Lord Sharmine dismissed us because we witnessed his humiliation at the gates of Aakadon. The moment we entered the city of Zane, he hired new men-at-arms and left behind the twenty of us who had accompanied him, twenty-one
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