Chapter 5
A Dangerous Trade
The Tri-Border Region
It took Toma and his companions four days to reach the Tri-Border Region. At the point where the borders of Elba, Greland and Ilyria meet, there was a city partitioned three ways. Each country had its own name for the city. To the Elbans it was Champlain, to the Grelish it was Connington, and to the Ilyrians it was Carpucci. Some of the locals just called it C City or Triple C.
While there were people who would try to sneak over, under and around the partition wall, there was only one proper border crossing for each side. The only way you were getting through was with valid papers and possibly a little gift for the border guards. That left the three of them with their current problem.
"Well, we made it here," Toma said. "Now what?"
"We need to trade what we can for as much as we can get," Dru said. "Besides papers, we need clothes—"
"And shoes," Toma said. "My feet're killin' me."
He was still wearing Dino's father's boots that were at least two sizes too small for him and making all this walking a lot more painful than it needed to be.
"Yes," Dru agreed, looking down at her own feet. "These shoes were not made for walking as far as we have. We also need to get more provisions for the road."
Dru had already traded her earrings and a bracelet at two of the towns they passed through for food and lodging. They had enough left over to maybe pay for another meal.
They started by asking around about the local pawnbrokers and getting estimates from them. They would of course offer far too little and the risk of walking away was that they would offer even less the next time around. Dru drove a hard bargain, though, and had already rejected the offers of three of the city's six pawnbrokers. They were on their way to the fourth when they were accosted by four rough-looking men.
"Wot we gots 'ere?" a bald man with crooked teeth said.
"Los' lil' lambs, eh?" a thin man with a big nose replied.
"Ripe fer fleecin'" said a third man who had bushy eyebrows and unusually greasy skin.
The fourth of them, a big tawny foreigner with a thick beard, said nothing. Maybe he didn't speak enough of the language.
The bald man moved in toward Dru and said, "Ah gots me a taste fer mutton, Ah do."
Toma got himself between Dru and Baldy. This seemed to both amuse and annoy him.
"Got us a woit noit, does we? Step off, moi son. Ye's gives us gully there as paymen' an we's lets ye's off. We'll even give 'er back ta ye's once we's done wiff 'er."
Glaring at Baldy, Toma reached for his bayonet, but this didn't escape the bald man's notice.
"Nice lil' pigstickah ye's gots there," he said.
Toma felt what could only be the barrel of a pistol press up under his chin. Baldy grinned, showing off those crooked teeth of his.
"Ain't ye's nevah 'eard, 'Don't brin' a noif ta a gun foit'?"
The other thugs drew weapons of their own. Nosey had a knife, Eyebrows had what looked like meat cleaver, and Tawny put on a set of brass knuckles.
"Ain't no law 'ere 'cept the law o' the streets, boy," Baldy said. "Las' warnin'. Step off."
"Toma..."
There was no way Toma could draw faster than Baldy could pull the trigger and even if he could somehow get Baldy first, the other three would be on him before Baldy's corpse could hit the pavement. He didn't have any intention of giving up Dru to the likes of them, but what could he do? Getting himself killed wouldn't help her any.
It couldn't possibly have been more than a few seconds, but the standoff seemed to drag on for hours when he heard the sound of someone whistling. It served to distract Baldy and quickly get on his nerves.
Keeping his pistol on Toma, he turned his head around and snapped at the whistler, "Oi! We's woikin' 'ere! Step off then! This ain't no bloody show!"
The whistler was a well-tanned man with shaggy black hair and a goatee, standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking like the sight before him was nothing out of the ordinary or anything that would cause him much concern.
"Four grown-ass men 'gainst three kids," he said. "Those ain't square odds."
"Wot o' it?" Baldy demanded. "Ye's wantin' ta do somethin' 'bout it, bruv?"
The whistler grinned.
"Never did like it when the odds weren't square. Makes my nose twitch. Annoyin' as hell."
Eyebrows held up his cleaver and said, "Ah'll take that nose rat off, eh?"
Without the slightest change in expression, the whistler's left hand whipped out, revealing a little pocket pistol just as he squeezed off a shot, breaking the blade of Eyebrows' cleaver. Just as quickly, he pulled out a second pistol with his other hand and put a bullet in Baldy's forehead. Dru gasped, covering her mouth, as Baldy fell back dead.
The other thugs looked stunned for a moment, but it didn't take long for Eyebrows and Nosey to charge at the whistler together.
"Bastid!"
The whistler casually tossed his pistols aside, reached in under his jacket and drew out two blades. He didn't stab them so much as just hold the blades out and let the thugs run into the points. He held them there for a moment before dropping his arms and letting them fall to the ground. That just left Tawny. He looked down at his dead companions, rubbing his head. He then looked to the whistler and nodded. The whistler nodded back and Tawny just turned and walked away. The whistler shook the blood off his blades with a flick of his wrists and returned them to their sheaths, then stooped down to pick up the pistols he discarded.
Bewildered, Toma asked, "What was that?"
"He's a Kazimiri, kid," the whistler said. "Warrior race, you know. Love ta fight, but won't shed blood 'less there's a reason for it. That nod he gave me was him acknowledgin' me as the better fighter. If I'da challenged him anyway, he woulda fought for honor's sake, but he wadn't gonna do it if he didn't hafta."
"How do you know 'bout all that?"
The whistler grinned.
"Kid, I've been jus' 'bout ever' place this world's got ta offer. Met all sorts a' folks 'long the way."
"Thank you for saving us, sir," Dru said.
"Ah, yes, thank you," Goldie added.
Toma wasn't so quick with his gratitude, though.
"Should we be thanking you?" he asked warily.
The whistler patted him on the shoulder and said, "Relax, kid. You ain't gone from the fryin' pan inta the fire. I was jus' passin' through when I saw you. This ain't quite the place for kids like you. An' quite the mismatched bunch you make at that. Local boy outta his element, rich kid wearin' the height a' Aurean gennlemen's fashion, an' this lil' lady in one a' the latest Ilyrian designs, only you ain't Ilyrian."
"And how do you know all that?" Toma asked, his suspicions not allayed in the slightest.
"Like I said, kid, I been all over. 'Sides, it's my business ta know such thin's. I gotta be able ta recognize the thin's a' value an' get 'em where folks want 'em."
"You mean you're a—"
The whistler nodded.
"That's right, lil' lady. Duran's my name an' smugglin's my game. Whatever, whenever, wherever."
Giving him a serious look, Dru said, "Then transporting three people across the border into Greland would be no problem for you."
"If you wanna talk business, lil' lady, let's put some distance 'tween us an' these bodies. The Militia don't usually bother with this part a' town, but we'd have problems if a patrol came by."
"Don't we have to worry about people who've seen us?" Toma asked.
Duran laughed.
"In this town, kid, nobody's sees nothin'."
Duran led the three of them to a little hole-in-the-wall bar a few blocks away. It only had room for three tables besides the bar. There were only a couple customers, so Duran took one of the tables, ordered a beer, and invited the others to sit down.
To Dru and Goldie, he said, "Now what's this 'bout wantin' to get inta Greland?" He nodded to Toma. "The kid there I can unnderstan', but you two look like folks a' means if you get what I'm sayin'."
"We have met with some misfortune," Dru said. "We have no money or papers, nor the time to sort things out through official channels."
"Well, you not havin' money's a problem, lil' lady."
"I am sure we can work something out."
"Sorry, lil' lady," Duran said. "Don't think I don't 'preciate the offer, but I like my women with a lil' more experience."
Dru blushed.
"Why does everyone think I mean that? No. This dress, you recognized its make and quality. There are 72 pearls woven into it. That alone should be more than enough for your services."
Duran didn't say anything at first. He just reached out for the golden chain around Dru's neck and pulled out a rather sizable green gem she was keeping hidden under her dress.
"Well, hello, beautiful," he said to the stone. "Alright, lil' lady, for the dress an' the necklace, I'll get you what you need."
"And what's she supposed to wear?" Toma asked.
"I'll see that you get a lil' spendin' money for clothes," Duran said. "They throw folks in the madhouse walkin' 'round in their skin, after all."
"You cannot trust him," Goldie said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "This man is a criminal."
"You need a criminal if you're breakin' the law, Blondie," Duran said.
"I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving us a gesture of your good faith, Mr. Duran," Dru said. She took a bracelet off her wrist and handed it to him. "Get us clothes, food and lodging for the night, someplace with a bath, and you get the dress. Once we're safely across the border, you get the necklace. Oh, and don't forget about the spending money, say, two hundred Grelish deniers."
Duran picked up the bracelet, looked at it, then looked at Dru and grinned.
"Looks like I ain't dealin' with no amateur after all," he said. "Alright, lil' lady, you got yourself a deal, 'cept make that a hunnerd pence."
"One fifty."
"One twenny."
"One twenty-five."
"Fine. One twenny-five. After I get the necklace."
"After you get us across the border."
"Yeah, yeah. Well, let's get you those clothes an' find an inn so I can get ta work. I should be able ta get you your papers by mornin'."
"Thank you," Dru said.
Duran finished his beer, then took them to a secondhand clothes store. Toma got an outfit much like the one he had, only without the dried blood on it. The shoes he got weren't as sturdy as the boots he was wearing, but they fit better and so his feet hopefully wouldn't be blistering up as much. Dru had to pick out Goldie's clothes for him as he didn't seem to have any idea what common folk wore. For herself, Dru chose a simple green dress with a shawl and a kerchief for her hair. She could almost pass for an ordinary girl if she wasn't so pretty.
Toma donated his old clothes to the shop, but Goldie wasn't willing to part with his, not that his clothes were appropriate for a shop like this. Duran paid what was owed, then took them to a cozy little inn out of the seedier part of town.
He went up to the front desk and asked the innkeeper, "You got a room with two beds for the night?"
"Two beds?" the innkeeper balked. "Whaddya think this is?"
"One bed it is then."
"All four a' ye?"
"Nah, jus' the kids here."
"Don't 'llow boys an' girls a' age in the same room. 'Tain't proper."
"I beg your pardon, sir," Dru interrupted, "but what do you mean 'not proper'?" She placed a hand on Toma's shoulder and said, "This is my brother." She then took Goldie's arm. "And this is my husband. If we were but strangers or mere acquaintances, you would be right to object, but we are family. Would you call the bonds of blood and holy vows 'not proper'?"
The innkeeper held up his hands and said, "Alright, alright, miss—er, missus, don't be gettin' yer dander up. I didn't mean no offense. I runs a respectable house, ye see. Lotta shameless folks out there an' we don't want none a' that here."
"So long as you understand, sir," Dru said.
"Three fer the the night. That'll be ten ducats."
"That include meals?" Duran asked.
"Or a bath?" Dru added.
"Baths're one ducat apiece if ye want it hot. Don't cost nothin' if ye kin take it cold. Meals're two ducats apiece, but if ye want supper an' breffis' together, I'll make ye a deal fer three."
"So that's twenny-two, eh?" Duran said.
"Twenty-one," Toma corrected. "I don't need a hot bath."
Duran sniffed.
"Well, ain't you considerate?"
Duran paid the innkeeper with three ten-ducat silver pieces and when he was given his change, he offered it to Dru.
"You can't do much with nine ducats," he said, "but that oughta help tide you over till I get back in the mornin'."
"Thank you, Mr. Duran," she replied. She then handed over her dress, which she had been carrying in a bundle under her arm. "Here you are."
"Pleasure doin' business with you, lil' lady. You kids get some food in you, wash up, rest. Got a big day tomorrow."
"I'm sure you're not gonna forget about us, right?" Toma said.
"I ain't been paid in full yet, kid," Duran replied. "I'll be back. You can count on that. See you 'round."
Duran waved and walked out of the inn, whistling as he went.
"We cannot trust that man," Goldie said.
"We can trust that he will want more than what he has," Dru said.
"And what if he decides to settle for what he's got?" Toma asked.
"We still have my necklace. For now, we have new clothes, food and a place to stay for the night. Our situation would've been much worse if he hadn't come along."
"'Scuse me..."
They turned to the innkeeper, who was pointing to the guestbook. Dru took the quill and signed it 'M & Mme Henri Joli', then handed the quill to Toma. No other name came to mind, so he put himself down as 'Agostino Almirante'. He was sure Dino wouldn't mind.
"Supper's from six to eight," the innkeeper said. "Baths from seven to nine-thirty. Lights out at ten. I go 'round an' lock the doors, so no bein' outta yer room. Breffis' is six to eight like supper, only in the mornin'. Need ye cleared out by ten less'n ye wanna pay fer 'nother night.
"Ye got nightshirts an' nightcaps in the room. Yer in Room Three on the secon' floor, by the way. Now I'm warnin' ye, if'n me or the missus hear anythin' immoral goin' on up there, yer out in the streets. We clear?"
"I'm going to ignore that insult to our virtue," Dru said sharply.
"Now, now, missus, I's jus' tellin' ye the house rules 's'all, same as I'd do fer anyone."
The innkeeper then presented a sheet of paper and said, "This is the lis' fer the baths. Ladies get half an' hour, gents get fifteen minutes. Now, missus, my girl'll tend ta ye. Gents, ye kin bathe yerselves. Oh, an' check by yer name if'n yer wantin' hot water."
"Are you sure you don't want a hot bath, Toma?" Dru asked. "We have the money for it."
"Save it," Toma said. "There are more important things we can spend it on."
Once they signed up for the bath, the innkeeper then said, "Gents, I'll have no weapons in my place. Check them blades an' I'll hold 'em till ye check out."
Toma looked to Goldie, then drew out his bayonet and handed it over. Goldie unhooked the scabbard from his belt and offered it to the innkeeper. Toma wondered if it was even a real sword or just for decoration. He certainly hadn't ever drawn the thing, not when they were being attacked by the Zadok soldiers and not when they were facing those thugs either.
The room was small and simple with just the bed, a nightstand, a chest of drawers and a screen where you could change with a modicum of privacy. Toma checked the drawers to find the promised sleepwear and the chamberpot was currently tucked away under the bed.
"We still have some time before supper," Dru said. "Do you want to look around town some more?"
"I don't know about you," Toma said, "but I've seen enough of this town for one day." He kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the bed. "I'm beat. I just wanna rest a bit."
"We're all tired," Dru said. "All this walking, sleeping in barns and whatnot."
"You think that old man charges for extra blankets? The floor doesn't look very inviting."
Blushing a bit, Dru said, "The bed is big enough for the three of us. There's no need for you to sleep on the floor this time."
He should have been embarrassed, but Toma was too tired to care. Dru could be sprawled out naked on top of him and he'd fall right asleep. Well, that particular mental image managed to fluster him a little.
"You're... you're fine with that?" he asked.
"I trust you, Toma," she replied. "Besides, if you were going to try something, I think you would've done so by now."
She gave him a bit of a mischievous smile. So she had that side to her too. As if she needed anything else to make her more alluring.
Toma chuckled to himself and said, "I wouldn't even know where to start. Your 'husband' doesn't mind? Eh, Goldie?"
"It is... improper," Goldie said, "having another man in bed with your bride."
"You can be the sword of separation then, Aurelius," Dru told him, "like in the stories."
Toma sat up.
"Wait. You weren't making that up?"
"Well, it might be more accurate to call us fiancés right now. We've said our vows, but the marriage has to be confirmed in the Imperial Diet first."
"What kind of marriage takes an act of the Diet?"
Dru looked to Goldie and asked him, "Should we tell him?"
"I leave it to you," Goldie said stiffly.
Dru sat down on the edge of the bed and held Toma's hand.
"Toma, we owe you our lives and you've lost so much for our sake. I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but I wanted to protect you—no, I suppose we were just protecting ourselves. You have to understand that no one can know who we really are. Countless lives are at stake here. I need you to promise me you'll keep our secret."
"Uh, yeah, sure..."
"Is that how you swear an oath?" Goldie asked critically.
Dru was looking intently into Toma's eyes and said, "The words may not be there, but I know. Like I said before, Toma, I trust you. My name is Julia Drusilla, Second Princess of the Kingdom of Redgrave, and he is Aurelius Aurelianus, Second Prince of the Aurean Empire."
Toma knew from the start that the two of them were nobility of some sort, but he wasn't expecting them to be royalty. So in other words, he literally saved a princess from a Dragon. It was almost too ridiculous to believe.
"My kingdom was made a tributary of Zadok during the last war," Dru continued. "My elder brother, the heir to the throne, was taken to the Zadok capital as a hostage and they killed him. My sister volunteered to take his place to spare my younger brother so we would still have an heir, but then they took him too. They could kill my brother anytime they want and overthrow my family. That's why my father sent me to seal an alliance with Aurea. With our alliance, we can rally the other tributaries to shake off the yoke of Zadok. We can beat them, make them answer for all the evil they've done, including what they did to your village."
It all seemed too big for Toma, but all he had to do was help them get to where they were going. He could handle that.
"So we get you two to Tiberia and all that can happen?"
"All we can do is hope and pray for the best," Dru said, "but we have to try."
"Well, I've come this far. I'll see it through to the end... Princess."
* * *
The next morning after breakfast, the three of them stood at the front desk waiting for Duran to return. He never specified when he was supposed to be back, so all they could do was wait patiently for him. That patience didn't come too easily for Toma, who still didn't trust the smuggler.
"Is he even gonna show?" Toma wondered aloud.
"We can give him until noon," Dru said. "Then we need to look into our other options."
"Where do we even start?"
"Taverns are usually good places for information. We ask around and hopefully we find someone who can help us."
"Or we get mugged again."
"I would like to think we stand out less now. Maybe they won't bother with us."
"A dog isn't above goin' for scraps."
"True."
Before they could spend too much time thinking about their alternatives, the door opened and in walked Duran.
"Mornin', kids," he said with a grin and a wave. "Sleep well?"
"Good morning, Mr. Duran," Dru said. "Do you have our papers?"
"Got 'em right here," he said, pulling out three passports from his jacket. "Even got some presents for you 'cause I like you so much."
He took something from behind his back and gave it to Toma. It was a leather sheath.
"For your pigsticker," he said. "Antoninus Pattern 850 sword bayonet, right? Not good leavin' a blade bare like you do. Wonder you hadn't cut yourself yet."
Part of him was genuinely surprised and grateful, but Toma couldn't quite get over his suspicions and general sense of annoyance whenever he looked at Duran's face.
"Uh, thanks."
Like a parlor magician, Duran held up his fist and then opened it to dangle a silver chain in front of Goldie.
"That's a nice ring you got there," he said, glancing down at Goldie's right hand. "I recommend keepin' it hidden away. Well, go on. Take it."
Goldie accepted the chain and then Duran turned to Dru.
"An' a' course I ain't forgot 'bout you, lil' lady."
He went down on one knee, then ran his hands up under her skirt.
Blushing furiously, Dru stammered, "Mi-mister Duran, wh, what are you doing!?"
"Hol' still a minute..." he said as he was doing who knows what. "There. A lady oughta have a lil' protection, you know."
Duran pulled his hands out and Dru touched her thigh. Her face still red, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Duran, but I can't say I approve of your methods."
"After the way you been bustin' my balls, I think it's I'm entitled to a lil' fun. We ready ta go?"
Toma and Goldie reclaimed their weapons from the innkeeper. Toma put his bayonet in its new sheath. A perfect fit. It was certain safer to carry it this way, but simple gratitude for the smuggler continued to be elusive, especially after that stunt with Dru.
For all the trouble they had to go to get there, the border crossing was a rather simple affair. All they had to do was stand in line, have a Militiaman check their passport on the Elban side and another soldier check them again on the Grelish side. They didn't even ask any questions. Duran explained that because Elba and Greland were both Aurean tributaries, travel between the two countries was much easier than travel to the Zadok tributary of Ilyria.
Once they had put some distance between themselves and the border checkpoint, Duran said to Dru, "Well, lil' lady, I got you 'cross. Now a deal's a deal."
"I trust you're not forgetting anything," Dru replied.
"Ain't I been square with you so far? Here."
Duran handed her a coin purse. Dru then asked Toma, "Toma, would you hold out your hands for me, please?"
Toma did so and Dru poured out the contents of the purse into his hands.
"Not that I don't trust you, Mr. Duran," she said as she started counting the money.
"Can't get anythin' by you," Duran said.
Dru counted the coins quickly and then said, "There's a hundred and fifty here."
"I was feelin' gen'rous," Duran replied. "Don't go tellin' no one or folks might expect me ta make a habit of it."
Dru smiled and returned the coins to purse, saying, "I wouldn't dream of it, Mr. Duran. You have upheld your end of the bargain and I will do the same."
She unhooked the chain to her necklace and handed it over to Duran. He took a moment to appreciate the stone before wrapping the necklace in a handkerchief and tucking it away in one of his pockets.
"Pleasure doin' business with you, lil' lady. If you ever need somethin' moved, look me up, eh?" He then looked to Toma and Goldie and said, "Take care a' this one, eh? A girl like this ain't easy ta come by. Good luck gettin' where you're goin'."
"Thank you for everything, Mr. Duran," Dru said, curtseying to him.
Duran didn't say anything. He just smiled, then turned and left, waving as he walked off. After he was out of sight, Goldie said, "I cannot believe he actually got us across the border."
"Mr. Duran's a businessman," Dru replied. "Even a smuggler needs his reputation."
"What now?" Toma asked.
"We find out where the nearest garrison town is, see if we can get to the next town before nightfall and get some supplies. Maybe we could even take a carriage to get there sooner."
"It'd be nice not to walk for a change," Toma admitted.
"It's the only way to travel," Dru replied with a chuckle. "Shall we get going?"