The Apprentice Page 14

  Rowan had missed dinner, though at Baird’s request, Horst was able to produce some leftovers, with much bowing and apologizing. The food was cold, but Rowan was hungry and had no complaints. He was given heated cider to wash the meal down with, which helped to warm him.

  Too tired and embarrassed to converse with anyone, Rowan had eaten and then made his way upstairs to the room where his bed awaited him. After so many nights spent sleeping on the ground, Rowan quickly slept in the comfortable bed.

  As he moved through the motions of the blade dance, slowly shifting from stance to stance, paying attention to his form and enjoying the way his muscles stretched, Rowan took note of the fact that Baird was not abed. He pushed the thought from his mind and focused entirely on the blade dance. Clearing the mind was a new exercise that Baird had taught him. His master said that it was necessary to learn to clear the mind entirely, allowing for pure focus on a single thought or task. Rowan did this as he went through the motions, slowly pivoting and bringing his right leg forward into a lunge and extending his arm into a thrust. The simple motion took a full minute. Rowan followed it by retracting his arm and bringing his leading leg back. Moving normally, the motion was a simple thrust-lunge. But moving slowly forced Rowan to balance on a single leg in positions that could not be maintained. It was taxing work, but it grew easier and more rewarding the longer he did it. He finished the dance and used a cloth and the washbasin that had been brought to the room to clean himself of his sweat.

  Rowan had been awake for more than a half hour and outside he could tell that the sun was already up and shining through the window. Today was the day that they would leave, and Rowan would be glad to be gone. He no longer felt any desire to stay in Barrinell and was eager to reach the capitol.

  Rowan quickly shed the previous day’s clothes and dressed himself in clean clothes before leaving the room. A fine aroma hung in the air and set Rowan’s stomach to growling. He was quite hungry.

  He made his way downstairs and found the commons already active. The tables were barely a quarter full, but food and drink was being brought to those who were seated and the kitchen sounded alive as it prepared for the day.

  Rowan looked around for Baird but did not see his master, so he took an empty seat on his own, wondering where the big man was. Rowan had not expected Baird to have gone, and he could not guess at what business he would have in the morning. But he pushed all thoughts of his master aside as a serving girl came by. He asked her to bring him some food.

  While he was waiting, Rowan saw Horst and decided to ask after Baird. The innkeeper was busy having a discussion with one of the customers, but he broke it off hastily when Rowan approached him.

  “Good morning, young sir. May I be of service?”

  “Good morning. I am looking for Ba—for Sir Gawyn. It seems that he left the inn?”

  The innkeeper smiled. “Indeed. Sir Gawyn left a few hours ago, saying that he would be back shortly.”

  “Did he say where he was going? What he was doing?” Rowan had little hope that Baird had told the innkeeper anything.

  “Alas, he did not tell me of his business. He did, however, leave a message for you.”

  “Really?” Rowan was surprised at that.

  “Yes. I do not understand his message, but perhaps you will. He said to tell you not to leave, not to get lost, and not to do anything at all.”

  Rowan frowned, but tried not to show his annoyance. He thanked Horst for the information and left for his table. The serving girl quickly returned with his food and a drink. Rowan thanked her kindly and started eating. It was hot and fresh, and it tasted good. Rowan reflected upon all of the meals he had eaten during his travels. They had not been terrible, but he resolved not to take hot meals for granted. It would only be a few weeks until they reached the capitol, but that would be a time during which the meals would be cold, the bread would be stale, and they would be sleeping outside and on the ground.

  Rowan finished and sat back to wait for Baird. It was not long before his master returned. He entered the room, his large body filling the doorframe, and strode through the room to sit across from Rowan.

  “I trust Horst gave you my message, since you are still here.”

  “Was it entirely necessary? I am no fool.”

  “You do not seem to do well in cities. I did not want an incident like last night.”

  That quickly shut Rowan up. He wished that he could forget everything that had happened the previous night.

  “I take it that you have eaten. If not, we will be leaving now so you had best get something to take with you so you.”

  “You took your time doing whatever it was that you were doing. I could have eaten two or three times over. What were you about, by the way?”

  “It was something for which I did not require your presence. I do not mean offence, but I had business to attend to on which I could not bring you along.”

  Rowan sensed that Baird would not discuss whatever his business had been.

  “I did, however, meet with James again today. He was most interested in you. It made him quite difficult to speak with, since he kept prying.”

  “Why is he interested in me?”

  “Because I have taken you on as my apprentice. I have never taken an apprentice in all the years I have served as a knight. It was expected of me, but I have always resisted the idea. So when I arrived in Barrinell with an apprentice boy from an isolated village in the Vale, his interest was piqued. He wonders what I saw in you.”

  The real question is what did I do to make you take me on. Rowan did not voice the thought aloud, but he could not suppress it. He knew already that Baird had never taken on an apprentice before. That was unsurprising since Baird was very much a loner. He dealt with people when necessary, but he was not the type to rely on others. If gaining an apprentice prompted such surprise and curiosity, then Rowan had underestimated the significance of the gesture. He resolved to make himself worthy.

  “It is time that we leave.” Baird said. “We have our provisions and the road is long. It is best we do not linger.”

  They retrieved their belongings, making sure that everything was packed away properly. Rowan filled their saddlebags with the provisions and things that they had obtained. When done, he brought the saddlebags to the stable boys and told them to saddle up Shadow and Chourl. He had no coin to pay them, but the two boys quickly set about their task, probably knowing Horst’s attitude towards Baird.

  “You are leaving already, Sir Gawyn? But you only just arrived. You must stay and enjoy Barrinell; enjoy my hospitality.”

  Rowan found Horst pleading with Baird in the common room, trying unsuccessfully to convince him to stay. The innkeeper was bobbing up and down as he bowed, but Baird was indifferent to the man’s pleas.

  “Surely you are not so pressed that you must leave after only one night. I insist that you stay. There is fine wine to be had, women, and much business and coin to keep you in the city. You need not worry about imposing.”

  “I have told you already that I will be leaving now. I had no plans to stay in Barrinell for any length of time, and there is no business keeping me here.” Baird noticed Rowan and turned, angling himself in such a way that he no longer directly faced the innkeeper, making it difficult for the man to continue pleading without appearing rude. To his benefit, Horst held his tongue, though the strain of silence was apparent on his face.

  “Are our horses saddled and ready?”

  “The stable boys are readying them now. They should be done quickly.”

  “Good.” Baird turned back towards Horst, his face stern. “It is time that I took my leave. I am grateful for your hospitality and your business.”

  Horst appeared ready to argue further, but the man was not so much of a fool that he could not recognize a lost cause. He bowed deeply. “As always, your stay was most welcome. If you truly wish to leave, I would advise that you avoid leaving by the eastern gate as there will be many people entering
there. It would be far more advisable to leave by the north or south gate.”

  Baird nodded and pulled out a small coin purse. “For our beds and your troubles.”

  Horst protested strongly even as he accepted the coin, quickly tucking it away.

  Outside, Baird and Rowan found both of the horses saddled and ready to ride. Chourl seemed pleased to see Rowan. The horse had only spent a single night in the stables, but already it looked well rested and ready to travel. Rowan felt much the same way. After a night spent in a bed, he felt more rested than he had since his journey with Baird began.

  Following Baird’s lead, Rowan mounted Chourl and led the horse out into the street. The sun had already risen and it was no longer early in the morning, but the streets were not yet crowded and it was easy enough to ride the horses rather than lead them. Rowan had feared that he would find it difficult to ride within the city, but he managed better than expected and Chourl did not seem troubled by the narrow space or the people who were about.

  “Why are we heading east? The innkeeper said that the eastern gate would be crowded and more difficult to leave by.”

  “He spoke the truth, but his advice was loaded. I have little doubt that he is watching both the northern and southern gates to try and determine which way we are headed. He is probably watching the eastern gate as well, but the crowds will make us harder to spot. Plus, the eastern road forks and goes both south and north, so leaving by that gate will not make it clear which direction we are heading.”

  “I don’t see the point,” Rowan said. He thought that perhaps Baird was reading too much into the innkeeper’s actions. “What does it matter if he knows what direction we are headed? He is no enemy.”

  “Not every enemy reveals himself, nor does a man need to have evil intentions to cause harm. If every man wore their heart on their sleeve, trust would not have to be earned. But the hearts of men, and women, are always hidden.”

  “I still don’t see the point of going out of our way to leave by a gate that will be crowded. Even if the information was useful, it is not necessarily accurate.”

  “True. Leaving by the south gate says little more than that we are likely headed south. It does not say where. And it is possible, though unlikely, that we could head south and then change direction. But information is valuable, and I prefer to be cautious. I trust you remember that I was followed into the Vale. I am skilled at moving and travelling unseen, but it was not the first time I have been ambushed, nor will it be the last. So I proceed with caution and keep those who are prone to trading information, such as Horst, unaware of my intentions and my business.”

  The city began to wake around them as they travelled the streets. Vendors were beginning to call out their wares to the passers-by and the street performers were beginning to appear. Rowan warily eyed any guards he saw, but none seemed to show any interest in him or Baird. At most they eyed the two men on horses with a lazy gaze before turning towards something more interesting.

  The tall buildings gave way to shorter ones as they approached the eastern edge of the city. With the markets and the shops behind them in the city proper, the streets were less crowded.

  As Horst had said, the eastern gate was crowded with those who were entering and leaving the city. There were guards managing the flow of people, but they were doing a poor job. More were coming than going, which made it difficult to approach the gate since they were moving against the flow of bodies. Outside, there was a line of carts waiting to be let in one at a time. A man at the front of the line was having trouble with the guards. They were shouting, but their voices were lost among the sound of hundreds of other people.

  Once they had cleared the gate and left the city, they were able to quicken their pace. The wide road was crowded, but within a few miles of the city gates the road was free of travelers. By the time they turned south, the city of Barrinell could no longer be seen.

  Having traveled east, they no longer skirted the edge of the plains. The earth was greener than it had been in the North and there were more plants and trees. The land rose and fell with hills, though not in the same way that it had in the North. These hills were rolling and flat, they did not dominate the landscape.

  The pair rode south at a brisk pace, stopping at midday to eat and stretch, allowing both themselves and their horses to rest. Baird had Rowan go through the motions of the blade dance while he observed. He made corrections where necessary and several times he ordered Rowan to halt while in the middle of a form or motion. Rowan would hold the pose as long as he could, trying his best not to fall. The exercise used all of the muscles in his body, but Baird seemed to avoid forms that taxed the muscles Rowan used while riding, for which he was grateful. Even so, after several hours of riding and having already done the dance in the morning, it was a strenuous exercise.

  “You are doing better,” Baird told him as they returned to riding. “You still rush through some forms and your motions are not perfect, but that will come with time and practice. Given that you only learned the dance recently and you are not a trained blade, your progress is commendable.”

  That night, the pair resumed their sparring ritual, beginning and ending with the blade dance. By the light of the fire, the stars, and the moon, Rowan and Baird exchanged blows with their practice sticks. It was an exhausting exercise, made even more difficult by the repetition of the blade dance.

  Sparring with Baird, Rowan could feel his body beginning to react quicker as it recognized motions from the dance. He found his movements more fluid and though he came away from their duel with many bruises and a sore body, his muscles felt better than they had in the past.

  After so much exercise, Rowan’s dinner seemed meager and unfulfilling. He finished his portion quickly and immediately slept. The night spent in a bed had been a luxury but he was so tired that even the cold, hard ground was a welcome relief.

  The next day was more of the same. They travelled quickly and when they stopped or slowed for rest, that time was spent eating, sparring, or sleeping. The sun rose and fell and the landscape flew past. They occasionally passed other travelers and once or twice they passed small farms. At Baird’s insistence they slept a ways away from the road and each night they sparred.

  Two weeks passed them by. Knowing that they were finally growing close to the capitol, they sped up their pace. Rowan kept watch for the capitol as they rode, looking for some spot on the horizon that would mark the city.

  It was shortly after midday, two and a half weeks after departing Barrinell, that they arrived in the capitol city of Estoria.

  Chapter 13

  Rowan stared at the city as they approached on horseback. Estoria lay spread out before them, rising magnificently from the land as though it was reaching to the sky. Houses and buildings were grouped together around a massive castle situated on a large rise of land, extending outwards for miles. The buildings grew smaller and more spread out as they stretched away from the city giving the impression that there was no true edge to it.

  On the eastern edge of the rise, Rowan could make out a large field filled with what looked like barracks. There appeared to be a wooded area, but much of it was hidden by the landscape.

  The rise itself drew Rowan’s eye to the castle. As they approached the city, Rowan could see that the rise was ringed by a wall, separating the land on which the castle sat from the city below. The castle itself was an enormous stone building of many stories with a number of buildings situated around it. It was like nothing that Rowan had ever seen before.

  Baird led Rowan down a hill and they approached the city from the north. Together they made their way through the outskirts and into the city itself, which was bustling with activity. With no wall, Rowan and Baird did not have to stop to enter. The road they traveled narrowed, slowly giving way to the city streets. Most of the outlying buildings were small houses and shops, none more than two stories tall. There were a few inns, but not nearly so many as had been in Attica or Barrinell. He wond
ered if that was because fewer people visited the capitol. Indeed, he and Baird had not encountered quite so many people on the road south, and few were headed to Estoria.

  The buildings grew larger and more condensed as they went, but they did not seem to grow more extravagant. Rowan had expected Estoria, the capitol of Atlea and the city of the king, to be refined and elegant, yet the buildings and the city seemed common. Barrinell and Attica had been filled with buildings that were grand and impressive. There were tall buildings here, but not so tall and not so many as in Barrinell. There were impressive and pleasing structures, but many of them were ordinary and would not have seemed out of place even in the small village of Corrinth.

  Even so, Estoria appealed to Rowan in a way that neither of the previous cities had. It was large and filled with people, but there was ample space. The crowds and the press of people from the other cities were gone. The vendors and sellers with their carts and their wares were confined to market squares, leaving the streets free and giving the city a sense of order and organization.

  Though it felt like a smaller city, Estoria was as large as either Attica or Barrinell, perhaps larger as there seemed to be more on the far side of the rise. From a distance, the rise had seemed gentle, but as they grew closer it grew larger. The hill leading to the castle was tall and though Rowan would not call it steep, it was far from flat.

  It was not until they reached the castle gates at the base of the rise that anyone took a particular interest in them. The guards at the portcullis seemed as though they were going to tell Baird and Rowan to stop until the pair came close enough for their faces to be visible. The soldiers recognized Baird and they gave him a crisp salute, raising their pikes so that they weren’t blocking the entrance anymore.

  “Welcome back, Sir Baird. Your return is a blessing, though we were not expecting you.” The man eyed Rowan with curiosity and Rowan wondered what he saw. Was he looking at a poor farm boy who was a long way from home, or did he see the apprentice to a great knight? Rowan hoped for the latter, but in either case, he knew that he must look terrible. He wore the dirt and grime of many weeks spent travelling.