let me put it this way. Which would you rather do – steal
%kni crowns from one man or a penny from each of ten thousand
men?’
Kalten did some quick counting on his fingers. ‘Oh,’ he said.
“Now I see what you’re driving at. Very shrewd, Senga.’
Senga puffed himself up a little. ‘It never hurts to think long-range,
Col. My real concern is the fact that it’s not really all that
hard to make beer. If some clever fellow’s got a recipe, he could
set up his own brewery right here. I don’t want to get involved
in a price war just when things are starting to go well for me.’
They had left Narstil’s camp at daybreak, and so it was midmorning
when they reached Natayos. They passed unchallenged
through the gates, rumbled by the house with barred
windows, and set up shop again in the same square as before.
As Senga’s closest associate, Kalten had been promoted to the
position of Chief of Security. The reputation for unpleasantness
he had established early on in Narstil’s camp ensured that none
of the outlaws would question his orders, and the presence of
Bevier, patch-eyed, lochaber-armed, and obviously homicidal,
added to his authority.
‘We ain’t likely t’ accomplish too much here, Col,’ Caalador
muttered to Kalten as the two of them stood guard near one of
the busy beer-carts. ‘Ol’ Senga’s so worried ’bout some feller
slippin’ by ‘thout payin’ that me’n you is tied down tighter’n a
couple o’ dawgs on short leashes.’
‘Wait until later, Ezek,’ Kalten advised. ‘We’ll be able to move
around a little more freely after everybody gets drunk.’
Bevier slouched over to join them, his short-handled lochaber
in his fist. People automatically got out of his way for some
reason. ‘I just had a thought,’ he said.
‘You want to kill somebody?’ Kalten suggested.
‘Be serious, Col. Why don’t you take your friend Senga aside
and suggest that he set up a permanent establishment here in
Natayos? It’s the logical thing to do, and it’d give the three of
us an excuse to stay here. If we cleaned out one of these ruined
buildings and opened a tavern, we could stay here and run it.
It makes more sense than selling beer off the tail-gate of an
ox-cart.’
‘He’s got hisself a point there, Col,’ Caalador said. ‘Ol’ Shallag
here, he looks like he drinks blood for breakfast, but his head’s
still a-workin’ in back o’ that there eye-patch.’
Kalten thought about it. ‘It would set us up right here in
Natayos, wouldn’t it? We’d be able to keep an eye on things.’
He looked around. ‘Senga’s a little worried that somebody here
might start his own brewery,’ he said for the benefit of nearby
soldiers. ‘if the three of us are right here, we could probably
persuade anybody who does that to take up another hobby. I’ll
go talk with Senga and see what he thinks of the notion.’
He found his good-natured friend sitting at a makeshift table
behind one of the ox-carts. The outlaw was counting money
with an almost dreamy expression on his face. ‘Oh, this is just
fine, Col,’ he almost crooned.
‘They’re only pennies.’
‘I know, but there are so many of them.’
‘Shallag came up with an idea.’
‘He wants to thin out the crowd by hacking the head off every
third man in line?’
‘Shallag’s not really that bad.’
‘Oh, really? Every man in camp has nightmares about
him.’
‘He hasn’t killed a single man since he came to Arjuna.’
‘He’s saving up. He’s just biding his time until he can gather
up a few thousand of us all together and kill all of us at once.’
‘Do you want to listen to his idea or haven’t you finished
making bad jokes yet?’
‘Sorry. Go ahead.’
‘He thinks we ought to clean out one of these empty ruins
and set up a permanent tavern.’
‘You mean like a real business? With a counter and tables and
chairs and all that?’
Why not? Now that your brewer’s working full time, you’ve
got access to a steady supply, and this is where your customers
are. If you set up shop here, you can sell beer all day every day
instead of just coming here once a week. Then your customers
would come to you in manageable numbers instead of by the
regiment.’
‘I never thought of it,’ Senga admitted. ‘I just thought I’d
make a quick profit and then run for the border. I could set up
a real tavern here, Col – a real, honest-to-God legitimate business.
I wouldn’t have to steal any more.’
‘i’ve seen your price-list, Senga. Don’t worry. You’re still
Stealing. ‘
Senga ignored him. ‘Maybe I could call it “Senga’s Palace”,’
he said in a dreamy tone of voice. He frowned. ‘No,’ he decided.
‘That’s a little too flashy for a beer-tavern. I think I’ll just call it
“Senga’s”. That’d definitely be a more lasting memorial than
just a grave marker with the date when I got hung carved on
it.’ then he shook his head and sighed. ‘No, Col,’ he said regretfully.
‘it wouldn’t work. If I took you and my other guards out
of here, Scarpa’s soldiers would just march in and drink up all
my beer without paying.’
‘Why take us out, then? We can stay right here and make sure
they pay.’
‘i’m not sure Narstil would like it if we didn’t go back to camp
at night.’
‘Senga,’ Kalten said gently, ‘do you really need Narstil any
more? You’re an honest businessman now. You shouldn’t be
associating with bandits.’
Senga laughed. ‘You’re coming at me a little too fast, Col.
Give me some time to adjust my thinking.’ Then he suddenly
swore.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘It’s a beautiful idea, Col, but it won’t work.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’ll need Scarpa’s permission to set up shop here,
and I’m not going to go anywhere near him to ask for it.’
‘I don’t think you’ll have to, my friend. I went rummaging
around through those heaps of trash in Narstil’s camp yesterday,
and guess what I found?’
‘What?’
‘A very fancy, silver-mounted cask of Arcian red. It’s even
equipped with a silver spigot. The fellow who stole it didn’t
know how much it was worth – he’s a beer man. I got it off him
for half a crown. I’ll sell it to you, and you can make a present
of it to that Krager fellow. Why don’t we let him persuade Scarpa
to give you permission to go into business here?’
‘Col, you’re a genius. What’ll you take for that cask of Arcian
red?’
‘Oh – five crowns, I guess.’
‘Five crowns? Ten times what you paid for it? That’s robbery.’
‘You ought to know, Senga. You’re my friend, but business
is business, after all.’
They found the bleary-eyed Krager sitting on a broken wall
watching the crowd of thirsty soldiers in the square without
much interest. He held a tankard in one hand, and he drank
from it occasionally with obvious distaste.
‘Ah, there you are, Master Krager,’ Senga said jovially. ‘Why
don’t you dump out that slop and try a sup of this?’ He patted
the ornate wine cask he was carrying under one arm.
‘More local swill?’ Krager asked.
“try it and see what you think,’ Senga suggested.
Krager emptied his wine out on the ground and held out his
pewter tankard. Senga turned the handle of the silver spigot
and dribbled about a half a cupful of Arcian red into it.
Krager squinted into his mug and sniffed at it suspiciously.
Then his eyes rolled up ecstatically. ‘Oh, dearie, dearie me.’ he
breathed in a reverent tone of voice. He took a small sip and
actually seemed to quiver with delight.
‘I thought you might like it,’ Senga said. ‘Now that I’ve got
your attention, I’ve got a business proposition for you. I’d like
to set up a permanent tavern here in Natayos, but I’ll need
permission to do that. I’d take it as a real favor if you could see
your way clear to put in a good word for me with Lord Scarpa.
I’d be very grateful to you if you can get his approval.’
‘How grateful?’ Krager asked quickly.
‘Probably about this grateful.’ Senga patted the silver-mounted
cask again. ‘Tell Lord Scarpa that I won’t cause any problems.
I’ll pick one of these empty buildings a little way off from his
main camp and clean it out and fix the roof my very own self.
I’ll provide my own security and make sure that none of his soldiers gets
too drunk.’
‘Go ahead and get started, Master Senga,’ Krager said, eyeing
the cask. ‘You’ve got my personal guarantee that Lord Scarpa
will agree.’ He reached out for the wine.
Senga stepped back. ‘After, Master Krager,’ he said firmly. ‘At
the moment, I’m filled with appreciation. The gratitude comes
after ScarPa gives his Permission.’