and it’s aged pretty nice. I could maybe take one off your hands, stake it out in the back, then slaughter it next week, but not two.’
Jojanna said, ‘Sagrin, this is Kaspar. He’s been working at the farm for his keep, filling in for Bandamin.’
With an evil grin, the man said, ‘I expect he has.’
Kaspar let the insult slide. The innkeeper looked like a brawler and while Kaspar had no fear of any man, he also didn’t go out of his way to court trouble. He’d seen too many of his friends die needlessly in duels as a youngster to believe that there was any profit in borrowing trouble. Kaspar said, ‘If you can’t use the beef, we’ll try the next village …’ He looked at Jojanna.
‘That would be Mastaba.’
‘Wait a minute,’ said Sagrin. He rubbed his hand over his bearded chin. ‘I don’t have much by way of coin or trade goods. What do you have in mind?’
‘Horses,’ answered Kaspar. ‘Two.’
‘Horses!’ echoed Sagrin with a barking laugh. ‘Might as well be their weight in gold. Some Bentu slavers came through here a couple of months back and bought two of mine, then came back the next night and stole the other three.’
‘Who else has horses to sell around here?’ asked Kaspar.
Sagrin rubbed his chin as if thinking, then said, ‘Well, I’m certain you won’t find any up in Mastaba. Maybe downriver?’
Jojanna said, ‘You know that travelling downriver is dangerous even for armed men, Sagrin! You’re trying to scare us into making a better bargain for you!’ She turned to Kaspar. ‘He’s probably lying about there being no horses in Mastaba.’
As she turned to leave, Sagrin’s hand shot out and he grabbed her arm. ‘Wait a minute, Jojanna! No one calls me a liar, not even you!’
Kaspar didn’t hesitate. He reached out, grabbed Sagrin’s hand and pressed his thumb hard into a nerve below the other man’s thumb. A moment later he pushed the heavy man, and as Sagrin resisted the push, Kaspar grabbed his dirty tunic and pulled. Sagrin stumbled for a moment and then his old fighter’s reflexes came into play. Rather than landing hard, he rolled to the side and came up, ready to brawl.
Instead of attacking, Kaspar stepped away and said calmly, ‘I’ll have my sword in your throat before you can take a step.’
Sagrin saw a man standing confidently, his sword still at his side. He hesitated for a moment, then whatever fight he had left in him vanished. With a grin he said, ‘Sorry for my temper. It’s just that those were hard words.’
Jojanna rubbed at her arm where he had grabbed it. ‘Hard, maybe, Sagrin, but you’ve tried to get the better of Bandamin and me before.’
‘That’s just trading,’ said the stout innkeeper stepping forward, his hands held with palms outward. ‘But this time it’s the truth. Old Balyoo had the one extra mare, but the old girl’s spavined, and not even fit to foal, so he might have put her down already. Other than that, horses are harder to find around here than free ale.’
Kaspar said, ‘What about a mule?’
‘You mean to ride a mule?’ asked Sagrin.
‘No, I want it to pull a wagon and a plough,’ said Kaspar, looking at Jojanna.
‘Kelpita has a mule he’d probably trade for the price of a steer,’ said Sagrin. He motioned to the bar. ‘Why don’t you fix yourselves up with something to drink while I go and ask him?’
Jojanna nodded as Jorgen entered the inn, and Sagrin left, tousling the boy’s hair as he passed. Jojanna went behind the bar and poured ales for herself and Kaspar, filling another cup with water for Jorgen.
Kaspar watched as they sat at a table, then joined them. ‘Can you trust him?’
‘Most of the time,’ she answered. ‘He’s tried to take advantage of us before, but as he said, it’s just bargaining.’
‘Who’s Kelpita?’
‘The merchant who owns that large building across the road. He trades down the river. He has wagons and mules.’
‘Well, I don’t know much about mules, but in the army –’ he paused ‘– the army I was with for a while, they used them instead of horses for the heavy hauling. I do know that they can be difficult.’
‘I’ll make him work!’ said Jorgen with youthful eagerness.
‘How much will the steer bring?’
‘What do you mean?’ Jojanna looked at Kaspar as if she didn’t comprehend.
‘I’ve never sold a steer before.’ Kaspar realized that he had little idea about the cost of many items. As Duke he never paid for anything out of his own purse. The gold he carried was for wagering, brothels, or to reward good service. He had signed documents allocating the household budget for the entire citadel, but he had no idea what his housecarl paid to the local merchants for salt, or beef, or fruit. He didn’t know what food came as taxes from his own farms. He didn’t even know what a horse cost, unless it was one especially bred as a gift for one of his ladies or his own warhorse. Kaspar started to laugh.
‘What?’ asked Jojanna.
‘There are many things I don’t know,’ he said, leaving his meaning ambiguous. She looked at him pointedly and he elaborated. ‘In the army other people – quartermasters, commissaries, provisioners – made all our arrangements. I just showed up and the food was there. If I needed to ride, a horse was provided.’
‘That must be nice,’ she said, her manner showing that she didn’t believe him.
He considered what he did know about the prices of luxury items, and asked, ‘How much does a steer bring in silver or copper around here?’
Jorgen laughed. ‘He thinks we have coins!’
‘Hush!’ snapped his mother. ‘Go outside and find something useful to do, or at least play, but go outside.’
Grumbling, the boy left. Jojanna said, ‘We don’t see coins here often. There’s no one making them. And after the war –’ he didn’t have to be told what war; all references to ‘the war’ meant the Emerald Queen’s rampage ‘– there were many false coins, copper with silver painted on them, or lead covered in gold. Sagrin sees a few from time to time from travellers, so he has a touchstone and scales to tell the true from the false, but mostly we barter, or sometimes work for one another. Kelpita will list what he’s willing to exchange for the steer, then consider if it is worth a mule. He might want both steers in return.’
‘No doubt he will,’ said Kaspar. ‘But that’s negotiating, isn’t it?’
‘He has what I want, and doesn’t have that much use for a steer. He can only eat one so fast.’
Kaspar laughed, and Jojanna smiled. ‘He’ll then trade it to Sagrin who will slaughter and dress it out, and Kelpita will be able to eat and drink here for a while at no cost, which will please him and vex his wife. She doesn’t like it when he drinks too much ale.’
Kaspar waited without making further comment. Again he was visited by the thought that Olaskon peasants must lead similar lives. In Olasko there would be merchants whose wives grew bitter when they drank too much ale, ex-soldiers who owned run-down inns and little farm boys out looking for someone with whom to play. He sat back and reflected that it was impossible to know each and every one of them. He barely recognized half the household staff at the citadel, let alone knew their names. But even so, he should have been mindful of what kind of people looked to him for protection.
He was visited by an unexpected rush of sadness. How little care he had given. A torrent of images swept through his thoughts, much like the dreams he had experienced.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Jojanna.
Kaspar