David Gemmell – Rigante 3 – Ravenheart

‘But Bane fought against Stone and captured it,’ argued Kaelin. ‘He took his army across the sea and all the way to the heart of the empire.’

‘Yes, he did. Then he brought the army home again. He sacked Stone, but he did not destroy it. He was a great warrior king. No doubt of it. Yet within twenty years of his death the armies of Stone had conquered all the southlands. Within fifty they had hill forts at the Rigante borders.’

The two travellers moved on down the hill towards Moon Lake. As they came closer Kaelin caught the smell of fish in the air, thick and acrid. ‘It stinks,’ he said.

‘You’ll adjust to it faster when you have some fish inside you,’ said Jaim. ‘There’s a market close to the shoreline, and within it a food hall. I’ve eaten there a few times. They know me.’

‘If they know you will they still serve you?’ asked Kaelin with a grin.

‘They’ll serve anyone with a copper coin in his pocket, you cheeky rascal.’

Their good humour faded as they entered the town and saw the four-rope gibbet in the square. A ten-man squad of beetlebacks was guarding the structure. Four bodies dangled from the gibbet. Kaelin saw that there were two men, a woman and a youth of around his own age hanging there. The oldest of the men had suffered the agony of having his eyes burned out and his hands cut off.

The crowd moving through the square did not pause by the gibbet, but moved on, eyes downcast. Kaelin could not take his eyes from the scene and slowed. A man behind walked into him and cursed loudly. Jaim grabbed Kaelin’s arm and drew him on.

The market beyond the square was thronging with people as Jaim and Kaelin eased their way through. At the far side was an eating area, with a series of bench tables set around three fire pits and several long, stone-built grills. It was crowded, but Jaim found a couple of seats and he and Kaelin sat down to await one of the many serving maids rushing hither and yon, bearing trays laden with food.

A stout, round-shouldered woman with buck teeth approached the table and stood before Jaim. ‘So, it’s you, is it?’ she said, her voice cold.

‘Good to see you, Meg. You look lovely,’ said Jaim.

‘You cause any trouble today and I’ll see you dungeoned. I swear I will!’

‘I’m just here with my nephew for a little breakfast,’ said Jaim, uneasily aware that several of the other diners were staring at him. ‘Kaelin, this is Meg, the finest fishcook this side of Caer Druagh.’ Kaelin rose and bowed. ‘Meg, this is Kaelin, the son of Lanovar.’

The woman’s hard face softened momentarily. ‘Aye, you’re a handsome lad,’ she said. ‘You have your father’s looks and your mother’s eyes. You are also, it seems, blessed with good manners. You should know, though, that a man is judged by the company he keeps.’

‘Only until his deeds are known,’ said Kaelin.

‘His deeds are known,’ snapped Meg, returning her attention to the one-eyed clansman. ‘He is a drunkard and a trouble-maker. He should have stayed in the north with the Black Rigante. However, since you, at least, are the son of a hero I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and feed you both. You can have the soup and the bread,’ she told Jaim. ‘No ale, though. And it’ll be payment now, if you please.’

‘You’re an unforgiving woman,’ muttered Jaim, delving into his money pouch and producing two copper coins. Meg took the coins without a word and moved off towards the main building.

‘She really dislikes you, Grymauch,’ observed Kaelin.

Jaim forced a smile. ‘How little you understand women. She adores me, boy. I sang her a song once and her heart is mine. Oh, I’ll admit she struggles against it. ‘Tis only show, however.’

Kaelin said no more on the subject. He had seen – and recognized, despite Jaim’s attempt to hide it behind a display of good humour – the embarrassment and shame the big man had felt. The woman had treated Jaim scornfully, and Jaim had accepted it. This surprised Kaelin, for had it been a man who had spoken so slightingly Jaim would have reacted with sudden and extreme violence. Not that the youngster would expect Jaim to strike a woman – no clansman worthy of the name would ever commit such a heinous act – but that the warrior should meekly accept such treatment without, at the very least, rebuking the woman was beyond Kaelin’s understanding. It left the youngster feeling vaguely uncomfortable. He felt that one of life’s lessons had been laid out before him, yet he could not quite grasp the significance of it. He shivered as the wind shifted, then pulled up the collar of his coat.