Eban

25 - Eban

Seeing Eban, Kerr moved into the tavern. "I heard that there was trouble brewing here. Is that true?" he asked, his eyes passing from Eban to Glynn to Kael, before moving on to the locals.

The soldiers were quick to make comments to the negative. The locals were slower, with several requiring pointed looks from Cedric before they held up their ends of the bargain.

Kerr did not look convinced, but he seemed satisfied that any trouble that may have occurred was now over. He nodded. "Very well," he said. "See that -"

"Oh, surely you're not going to let them off that easily," a snide voice said from the door.

Kerr's frown briefly deepened into a grimace before his face settled into careful neutrality as he turned to the door.

"Gallia, what a surprise. I thought you'd gone ahead to the encampment."

She sauntered in, her eyes flittering over each of the soldiers until they came to rest on Eban. "Interesting company you keep, Kerr," she said. "I would have thought you above befriending such mongrels."

Eban felt the anger rising in Glynn. He reached out, catching the man's hand against his dagger. Angry at being stopped, Glynn glared at Eban, but he released the hilt.

Unfortunately, Gallia had seen the movement. She strode up to Glynn, grabbed his tunic in her hand and pulled him nose to nose with her. "So, you think you have a chance against me, dog?" she asked. There was a purr to her voice that reminded Eban of the large nocturnal cats that lived in the forests near Whiting. They were big and strong enough to take down a deer, but you would never hear them coming.

Glynn swallowed audibly. "No, Corporal," he managed, his voice weak. Gallia's stare stayed on him a moment longer, and then she released him roughly enough to push him from his stool.

Something under the table caught Gallia's eye and she bent down. When she straightened again, a strip of red-streaked cloth was in her hand.

"You mentioned trouble, did you not?" she asked Kerr. "I think this is evidence enough for punishment." Gallia threw the cloth at Kerr.

Frowning with distaste, Kerr caught the bloodied rag. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this, Gallia, that does not require punishment." Kerr turned to Eban. "Well, lad? Have your services been required tonight?"

Gallia's eyes snapped to Eban, who did his best, again, to ignore her. "Yes, sir," Eban said, fighting to stay calm. "Glynn here was sharpening his dagger when the blade slipped. An unfortunate mishap with lots of blood, but easy enough to fix. He'll be more than capable of completing any weapon drill you throw at him tomorrow."

Kerr smiled and nodded, happy with Eban's excuse, but Gallia's eyes had narrowed. "You," she said to Kael, "You're in my company. Is this true?"

Kael was visibly nervous, and Eban could feel the man's fear. "Yes, ma'am," Kael said finally, his voice shaky. "The Healer speaks the truth."

"Saw it with my own eyes," said an elderly man close to Cedric. "Back in my day, soldiers knew how to sharpen knives properly. Guess you've learnt now too, haven't you, lad?"

Glynn, going slightly red with embarrassment, nodded.

"Very well, then," Kerr said, clearly eager to get this over with. "That's sorted then. He glanced around at the soldiers in the room. "Make sure you're all bright-eyed tomorrow morning. We'll be arriving at the main camp and, if any of you embarrass me, you'll be on latrine duties for the rest of your life."