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A hand holding a mug of mead dropped down in front of Yulen. A
second mug similarly appeared in front of Atty. Glancing up, Yulen
saw Echo’s smiling face. Or rather, a face with a grin he knew too
well.
“I can get you
all the information you need,” she whispered. “These guys look at
me and all they see is a kid ‘cause I’m scrawny and weak looking.
I’m a nothing to them. Nothing worth worrying about, ya get it?”
She winked at him. “Just tell me what you need to know, and I’ll
get it for you.”
“That’s the
problem. I don’t know any of the specifics, other than…” Yulen
paused. “Can you find out where the soldiers are bunked? Or how
many Talco has under his command?”
“Sure. No
problem. Anything else?”
“If they see you
walking around with a tray of mugs, chances are they’ll think
you’re a servant from the castle,” Renken commented. “Most guys
tend to ignore the servants.”
Echo pointed a
finger at him and winked. “Good idea.” She looked back at Yulen
and Atty. “Anything
“Like I said
earlier, just keep your eyes and ears open for anything that might
sound suspicious. Chances are, Talco is expecting us to be
complacent while we’re here, and he plans to keep us distracted
and unsuspecting with all the goings-on he’s arranged during this
sale,” he replied.
“Sure thing.”
The young woman disappeared into their tent.
Pausing, he took
a deep breath before taking the plunge. “All right. Let’s address
the big unspoken question I know everyone’s dying to ask.” He eyed
Batuset. “Except for you, since you weren’t there. But I’m sure
you’ve been informed since then.” He took a sip from his mug as he
arranged his thoughts. “Earlier, a few of you saw a young man who
was the spitting image of me accost us as we were entering the
compound. To answer you, yes. He is my son, and his name is Yusten
Turkel.”
He saw the shock
on the faces of the people surrounding him, and he couldn’t blame
them.
“Twenty years
ago, when I was still a teenager, my mother and father made me go
with them to a compound called Molto Fuego. The battle lord had a
beautiful daughter. Her name is Pamecca. It was a whirlwind
relationship. Her father and my father tried to arrange a marriage
between us, but my mother nixed it…thank goodness.” Yulen managed
a sad smile. “No one notified us to let us know Pamecca was
pregnant, or that she’d born me a son. Hell, I didn’t find out
until a short while ago.”
He pointed
toward the castle. “I just had a talk with her. Back then, Talco
had recently lost his wife and son, so Pamecca’s father approached
him and offered him her hand, along with a substantial dowry.
Talco agreed on the condition that she had to produce him another
heir within five years. That’s how she came to be here, along with
Yusten. She gave Talco the heir he was wanting, and she and Yusten
got to stay. But she’s at death’s door now. She begged me to take
Yusten with us when we leave to return to Alta Novis.” He nodded.
“I told her we would. I felt it was the least I could do under the
circumstances.”
He saw their
gazes go to Atty, who nodded she was accepting the situation.
Someone whispered, “Wow,” but it was hard to tell who’d said it.
“D’Jacques.”
Yulen glanced
over at Gaddy and waited for the Second to continue.
The man touched
his chest. “This is just an idea.”
“Go on. Let’s
hear it.”
“Some of the
other battle lords’ men are giving the Mutah a wide berth, but I
don’t have that problem since my mark isn’t visible. There’s
another hunter who came with Memnon and the others who isn’t
easily discernable as Mutah. I’d like to volunteer us to move
about the other Normals and see what we can learn.”
“That’s an
excellent suggestion,” Atty responded for her husband. “Thank
you.”
Yulen checked
around the fire at the faces intently watching him. “Any other
questions or observations? No? Then I won’t call another meeting
unless we’ve gotten some new information. Until then, enjoy
yourself as best you can, try not to imbibe too much ale, and
let’s hope nothing major happens while we’re here.”
Renken groaned
loudly at that last part.
“What’s your
beef?” Batuset demanded of the man.
“Every time he
says something about hoping nothing bad happens, something bad
happens,” the ex-mercenary proclaimed. He wagged a finger at
Yulen. “Just you wait, D’Jacques. You may have inadvertently
cursed us with those words.”
Even though his
accusation was clearly spoken in jest, Yulen wondered if maybe the
man was right. A quick glance over at Atty found her giving him a
bemused smile.
“Did I just
curse us, my love?”
She snickered.
“It won’t be the first time, or the last.”
He ruefully
shook his head as the others laughed at his show of dismay. |