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The Lost Stars ChronicleChapter 6: Trade Relations
Several days later, the word came by a swift Forestman runner about the trading party being dispatched to the Crusaders. All of the Forestman bands were sending several yeomen as representatives to ensure that their bands of Forestmen got enough food for the winter. Anardan and Elacil worked hard with their band to harvest several cords of lumber to be taken for trade, and the final product was loaded onto a pair of wagons.
“I’ll take two with me to Drullen Bell keep to meet up with the rest of the trading party, and we’ll head for Crusader territory after our representatives return from their bargaining.” Anardan said to Elacil, “You’ll stay here with the men and supervise the repair of the outpost, we need to fix it before winter hits.”
Anardan and two Forestmen brought their wood to Drullen Bell Keep, where the other Forestman bands were accumulating their stock of timber for transportation to the Crusader cities, as soon as the advance scouts returned.
Reno held up a scroll and scratched away with ink and quill, recording the cords of sawed and bound lumber prepared by groups of Forestmen. Aros was off finding the last-minute lumberjacks, and Shainya was gathering final orders from Bjarn. Reno was interrupted from his note keeping when someone approached and said respectfully, “Sir?”
Reno looked up and smiled. “Greetings, are you a leader from one of the timber harvesting parties?”
“Indeed, sir, my is Anardan, leader of group number 18. We have sixty-two cords of wood prepared and ready to be loaded onto the wagons.”
“Very good. Will you be coming along with us to Farburg and Port Crowne?”
“Yes sir.”
“Very good, carry on.”
Anardan nodded and left to watch over the loading of his wood. Reno returned to his parchment and scribbled some more until Shainya approached. He smiled warmly at her, and she smiled back and pecked him on the cheek.
“Are the accounts in order, Reno?” she queried.
“As best as I can figure.” replied Reno, “What did Bjarn say?”
She smiled and shrugged, “Just to be fair and polite, but don’t take no for an answer, which he says is very unlikely. He also said to be safe and to hurry home so we can finish patching him up.”
She giggled and Reno grinned back. “Bjarn is a tough old elk...Jack will know what to do.”
Aros approached and informed them both, “Ok, you two lovebirds, time to hit the road. Group 21 just reported with fifty-five cords of wood, so we can head out now.”
Reno nodded. “Right.”
After saying their farewells to Willem and Graygon, who were also leaving to return home with the other Wolfpack soldiers, and to Radjar and Rosa, who were returning to the Hemlock Stronghold, the band of Forestmen wagons began to trundle southward with Reno, Shainya and Aros at the lead, starting the first steps to unity between the Forestdwellers and Crusaders.
Anardan walked up to the side of their wagons of wood and walked alongside them as the party moved out. It was a grueling several hour hike in a mist of rain before the caravan reached the border of the Crusader lands. As the party approached, out of the mist loomed a ramshackle building alongside the path. It was a small guard-tower, hastily constructed of blackened stone blocks and timber salvaged from what looked like a charred ship’s hull. Before the Forestmen could ponder it further, a voice hailed them.
“Who trespasses on Crusader lands?”
An arrow thudded into the ground in front of the lead Forestmen. A gate in the tower was flung open and half a score of assorted Crusader soldiers exited. Many had great rents and scrapes in their breastplates and shields, as though they had been salvaged from a battlefield. Another figure, dressed in a breastplate still bearing the Crusader emblem and a knee-length black cloak, similarly embroidered, stepped forward. His hand was on his sword hilt.
“Who are you and why are you here?”
Both Anardan and Reno stepped forward. They looked at each other for several moments, then Anardan spoke.
“My name is Anardan, a Forestmen captain. We come in peace, we wish to trade with you our supplies of good lumber for surplus food. Your hospitality has declined of late, My Lord! We are friends, not enemies!”
“I am sorry, my brother;” the Crusader Captain replied, “The times are dark of late. As you know, our wars have weakened us, and we have no supplies. Falcon raiding parties have paid visits to us on occasion, we do not know if they act under orders or are just rogues. We cannot survive a full-scale attack by even the weakest faction in our current state. My name is Haribier, Captain of this outpost. My apologies, Captain Anardan. Your trade will be welcome here. I’ll send one of mine with you as a guide.”
The Crusader soldiers stood aside and let the Forestmen pass, relaxing the grip on their battle-axes. As the Caravan continued on into the mist, a burly Crusader scout holding a spear loosely in his hands fell into the first rank.
As the Forestmen proceeded forward, Reno leaned toward Anardan.
“I’m much obliged, Anardan. You handled that very smoothly.”
Anardan simply smiled and nodded as the Forestmen caravan continued southward past the guard tower and into the city of Farburg. Reno smiled as he stared at the city, for this was the same Crusader town where he, Bjarn, Barbod, Willem and Drakko had hijacked the ship Shadow. His good eye wandered over the new features since he last saw it; the dock had been repaired long ago, and of course the guard tower they had just passed through was new. Before, Bjarn had been able to sneak into Farburg, ‘borrow’ a cart, and return to the other Misfits without detection.
The caravan made it’s way to the center of the city to where the main marketplace was located. Aros directed the unloading of wood and Shainya saw over bartering for food and other supplies while Reno again kept records. The trading continued well into the late afternoon, and by that time the Forestmen and Crusaders had become much friendlier toward one another. Age old differences were forgotten and new ties were made as the two newly formed allies traded and bartered for what they both needed most. At last, as the sun sank into the horizon, the last cords of timber was stored and the last basket of food and bolts of cloth was packed away in the cabin. As it was late, the Crusaders invited the Forestmen in their homes and had a merry sup together. Then the Forestmen slept on makeshift cots into the houses of generous Crusaders, glad of a good day’s trading.
As Shainya drifted off into sleep, she realised BloodVaine had done one good thing amidst his tyranny. He had brought old enemies together.
Anardan and the two Forestmen who had accompanied him on the trading mission pored over the ledgers of parchment recording the trade, selecting from the mound of goods the share they would withdraw for their group. After two wagons had been filled with good supply of hearty bread, grain, meat, and cloth, he leaned against the cart and took a swig from his canteen.
“We’ll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow for our outpost.”
The two Forestmen went off to gamble with a group clustered around a large tree-stump table, and Anardan thought of joining them but decided against it. He noticed a several black-and brown clad Scouts watering their horses and drinking beer by a well, and decided to join them. Scouts always had interesting stories.
“Any news, lads?”
The three scouts looked up from their drinking and handed him a beaker, filled to the brim with good Forest ale.
“Some news, milord. But time for that later! Come join us!”
Anardan made marry with the scouts for some time, telling jokes and quaffing ale by the pint. Finally, the talk got around to their duties.
“I’ve been stationed in Knight’s Kingdom for who knows how long. Bad business going on for us scouts, more and more dangerous for us, wherever we go! Why, Mike here was stationed in Black Falcon territory!!”
“Don't remind me,” the scout called Mike shuddered, “I am not going there again. I must have nearly been executed five times, five! I brought back enough information to keep the top happy, though. It doesn’t look good for keeping the peace around here. Falconis XXIX is the new king, and I dearly hope things will go alright for us. But I don’t know. I’ve got information that Falconis is sending raiding parties into Crusader territories, and if he’d attack them, he’d attack us.”
The scout shuddered into silence.
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