“I like this place,” said Dade with a grin as Rori and Nolan made their way up to where he and Kedra were standing. They were in the area that had been devoted to the merchants. Unlike the rest of the Cunāe, the merchants had no interest in changing locations once they had set up, preferring to make sure potential customers knew how to find them if they later decided that they wanted to make additional purchases.

  Most of the merchants were using large open fronted tents as their stores. There were also a few that had wagons whose side could open wide and serve as a counter, but those were relatively rare. Finally, some of them preferred to mill around in the crowd carrying their wares on them as they searched out prospects.

  Dade and Kedra were standing beside a tent that was selling a variety of leather goods. Most of what was for sale were practical things like saddles, water skins and the like, but there was also a decent selection of scabbards. It was these that Dade had been looking over. While the owner of the tent was currently trying to sell a small pouch to a couple of ladies, he had at least some of his attention on Dade, hoping to make a much more lucrative sale to him.

  “This place is chaos,” said Kedra. “That’s why you like it. For all your stiff military manner and regimen, you love letting loose every once in a while and reveling in madness. Also, they have weapons for sale.”

  “This isn’t a weapon,” said Dade pointing to one of the scabbards.

  “I stand corrected,” said Kedra. “It’s something to put a weapon in. Something, that I might add, you already have a sufficient number of.”

  “My current scabbard is getting worn out. Also, look at the oiled black leather on this one. And the silver studs. It would look perfect with my armor.”

  “Oh, my word,” said Kedra with a sigh. “If you want to waste your money on another scabbard, go ahead.”

  “I’ll just ask how much it is,” said Dade with gravitas. He turned to the merchant, who had just finished with the two ladies. “Excuse me. I wonder if you could tell me the price of this scabbard?”

  “It’s an excellent piece,” said the merchant pulling it off the rack and handing it to Dade. “Hand crafted out of some of the finest black leather. Do you have a weapon to go with it? The long sword you are wearing would be too small for this scabbard. If you do not possess the appropriate weapon, while I myself do not sell them, I do have a friend a few tents over that I could send you to.”

  “I have the sword, but I left it in my . . . wagon. Actually, now that you mention it, I should probably make sure of the fit before I commit to buying it.”

  “I’m sure the sword will fit fine. If you’d like, I’d be glad to sell you the scabbard now and if it ends up not being a good fit I will be glad to refund your money or replace it.”

  “Half true,” said Nolan, “but I guess that’s not too bad for a merchant.”

  The merchant scowled at Nolan but then turned back to Dade. “On my honor sir. I will gladly make the transaction right. As I am sure a man of your obvious skill with weapons knows, a scabbard like this can be adjusted a little bit and again I have many other scabbards as well. Though not all of them are currently on display. In the rare occurrence that this one does not suffice, I’m sure we can find you another one.”

  “What about that one?” said Rori pointing to a different scabbard standing on the back row of the display rack.

  “This one?” asked the merchant touching a scabbard that was also made of black leather, but instead of an oiled leather shine, this one was a rough leather with four metal bands spaced evenly down it.

  “I was under the impression you possessed a great sword,” the merchant said to Dade.

  “I do indeed,” said Dade.

  “Then that scabbard will not do. It was made for what is often called a bastard sword or a hand and a half sword. While still one of the larger swords, the blade is just a bit thinner amongst other differences. A great sword will not fit in it. Also, this scabbard is not meant for a weapon that is going to be drawn in a fight. It’s a bit too long for a standard sword and would drag on the ground if worn at the side. If worn on the back, the bands down its side and the tight fit will significantly slow down the drawing of the blade.”

  “No, I want this one,” said Dade turning the scabbard in his hands over again. “How much?”

  “A fine piece of work like that could go for a lot of money in Lycea. But in the spirit of the conclave, I could let you have it for a mere thirty gold.”

  “Well, that seems just . . .” started Dade.

  “A bit high to me,” finished Nolan stepping in front of Dade.

  “I’m sure that is something this man should decide for himself,” said the merchant trying to edge around Nolan.

  “Since I carry all of his money for just such occasions and won’t get out a copper of it if the price is unreasonable,” said Nolan with a smile, “perhaps you should talk to me about the cost.”

  The merchant sighed as he saw his easy profits fade from his reach. But as a still reasonable profit could yet be made, he turned to Nolan and prepared to do some negotiating.

  “We’ll give you ten,” said Nolan.

  “The silver on it cost ten,” said the merchant dryly. “I will not take a loss on the thing.”

  “You are lying,” said Nolan with a smile. “Ten gold worth of silver is a hundred coins. There isn’t half that much silver on the scabbard.”

  “The cost isn’t just the metal but the craftsmanship. Go to any other tent in the area and see if you can find something as nice. Twenty-five.”

  “It’s a scabbard,” said Nolan. “You can buy a new one in Lycea for a single gold. He has more than one already. He doesn’t need this one. Fifteen.”

  “We’ll give you twenty-five for both of them,” said Rori interrupting the two. “Decide now in this instant or we buy neither.”

  “But . . .” The merchant stopped and looked into Rori’s face. Seeing the earnestness visible there, after a moment’s pause, he said, “Fine. Twenty-five for both. But while my offer to swap or adjust the first scabbard still stands, I am not responsible when the second is too thin.”

  “Agreed,” said Rori. “Nolan, pay the man.”

  “But what about your share?” asked Nolan.

  “I guess I’ll have to owe you.”

  The four of them wound their way through the rest of the merchants and made their way to the edge of Lake Loenz. If the body of water at the Ulbricht family retreat was in fact a lake it was an exceedingly small one. Lake Loenz sat at the other end of the spectrum. It was big enough that you couldn’t see the other side and, though it was slight, the water also had a very slight tide.

  The tents on this side of the merchant grounds were mostly selling a different variety of goods. Here they were nearly all selling food. Around the edge of the lake a number of makeshift tables and chairs had been set up to provide places to eat. Many of the chairs were little more than segments of tree trunks and the tables were mostly just boards lain across more of them. It was at one of these that they all sat down.

  “What am I smelling? It smells fantastic,” said Dade sniffing the air.

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  “Which smell?” asked Rori. “I agree it smells good, but there’s forty of them combined.”

  “It’s kind of a greasy, spicy smell,” answered Dade. “Some kind of meat with spices in it.”

  “That’s probably the lamb sausage.”

  “It smells fantastic. Once we are finished, I’ll have to see if it tastes as good as it smells.”

  “You’ll have to pardon him,” Kedra said, “he’s a bit giddy. He bought a new toy.”

  “I am not giddy. And it isn’t a toy.”

  “You should have seen him when he got that massive sword he swings around. He was bouncing off the walls.”

  “I was not. Anyway, we have more important things to discuss. Rori, why did you get the second scabbard?” asked Dade. Both of the purchases now lay side by side on the table in front of them.

  “It’s kind of silly, actually,” admitted Rori. “But it’s for the sword we lost. Ever since the phren took it, I’ve had this desire to carry a scabbard for it. It’s like I somehow think I’m going to get it back.”

  “Maybe you will,” said Nolan.

  “The merchant is right though,” said Dade. “That scabbard will be horrible in a fight. I think it is meant to be more of a display item. Bastard swords are a pain to draw anyway because of their length. A good combat usable scabbard usually has a slit that starts about a third of the way down its length. You don’t actually slide the blade straight out, you pull it up and out at an angle, partly through the side.”

  “True, but given my combat skillset, I don’t have to worry about drawing a sword. So, this would actually work out better as it will prevent the blade from slipping around when I go flipping around the battlefield.”

  “Good point,” said Dade. “It is a nice-looking scabbard. Anyway, on to business.”

  “Is everyone now at the conclave?” asked Nolan.

  “Yes,” said Kedra. “We have roughly twenty people scattered around. Our usual group and the few other soldiers we added who used to be Cunāe and should have an easy time blending in.”

  “We decided to up the numbers once we saw how big the conclave was going to be,” explained Dade. “Let’s discuss the new layout.”

  “We had an initial one in mind, but the large turnout has caused some shifts,” explained Nolan. “The merchants are still basically in the zone we’d originally intended, but there are quite a bit more of them so they have expanded outward a good bit.

  “We’d originally only planned on two stages for performances, but we hastily cobbled together four more. They are not strategically placed, and I think the one on the east side of the camp might have been moved.”

  “Not moved so much as rotated,” said Rori. “Something about a performance happening and wanting the setting sun in the right spot. It’s basically in the same spot.”

  “Past that we’d originally thought the clans would all be stretched along the coast to the east of the merchants, but now we have over twenty clans scattered around everything.”

  “Anyone have anything to add?” asked Dade.

  “Though we didn’t specifically set up any contests, there will likely be several impromptu ones. We should rope off some flat zones so that people don’t get hurt,” Rori said.

  “What kind of contests and why didn’t we plan for this before?”

  “Before we thought they would just take place on the edges of the camps. Now the edges are too far away. The contests could be anything: archery or other types of accuracy, balancing, strength, riddles, juggling, whatever people decide. Actually, if you want to get accepted quickly, one of you should start one up. Have Ian brag a bit about his aim, and someone will eventually tell him to put up or shut up. Then have Ian suggest a contest. The rest will happen on its own.”

  “That’s not a bad idea, but we should probably set up an archery range away from the tents. While I doubt Ian or Honoria will miss, others might not be so accurate. Errant shots could cause a lot of damage,” said Dade.

  “Speaking of damage,” said Kedra. “I haven’t seen any tents for healing. I saw a few selling medicinal herbs, but I haven’t seen a single healer. Surely someone has to be taking care of the sick and injured? With this many people it’s bound to be needed.”

  “If someone gets hurt, whoever is nearby will help out. Cunāe use a lot of traditional medicine. Each clan has its own methods of dealing with health issues. Poultices are common. Also, nasty drinks of herbs steeped in broth, hot wine or just water. Beyond that the Cunāe tend to rely on letting time and rest heal most things.”

  “Why not use magical healing?”

  “There might be a few clans with a cleric, druid, shaman or something like that, but they are not going to have much to cast beyond the most basic of healing spells. For the most part the Cunāe don’t use magic. It’s my understanding that the bigger healing spells require divine blessings or something like that. Since the Cunāe as a rule don’t follow any one god, it means we don’t have big healers.”

  “I think I’ll go back to Lycea tonight and make sure that there are healers standing by just in case. As the sponsors of this thing, we don’t want to risk anyone getting injured or worse.”

  “Makes sense,” conceded Dade.

  “I’m taking you down!”

  The shout came from behind Rori. As he turned to see what was going on a man stepped out of the crowd his finger pointing directly at Rori. He took another couple steps forward.

  “Prepare to . . .”

  The man fell silent as Dade, in one fluid motion, sprang up from the table, drew the long sword at his side and ended with the tip of his blade standing immobile against the man’s throat.

  “No, Dade wait!” said Rori standing up and turning to face the man.

  “Do you know this man?” asked Dade.

  “No, but he isn’t a threat.”

  Dade could see the fear in the man’s eyes, the lack of worry in Rori’s and what was practically glee in Nolan’s and realized he was definitely missing something. He sheathed his sword and took a step back from the man.

  “Sorry,” said Rori stepping up to the man. “My friend is a little overly protective. Also, he just got here.”

  “It’s okay,” the man said hesitantly. Then turning to Dade he asked, “Did you arrive this afternoon with Clan Basalf?”

  “No, I’m with Clan . . .” Dade started. “Actually, I’m not sure what we are calling ourselves right now. Rori?”

  “He’s with me in Clan Zenja. You’ll have to excuse him; he’s been traveling for a while. Just got back.”

  “Misli?” said the man.

  “Something like that. I’m Rori by the way.”

  “I know, that’s why I challenged you. I’m Jhon. I’m in Clan Giselle.”

  “Satimo. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jhon. Is Ingstrom still in the clan and if so, is he here? He is an old friend, and we have catching up we need to do.”

  “Of course. He’s currently camped near the wagon. I’ll let him know you are looking for him.”

  “I would appreciate it. Now about that challenge. Are you ready?”

  “Um, okay. What would you like? Odds or evens?”

  “I’ll take even. On three then.”

  The two men counted to three together. As each got to three, they both stuck out two fingers. Jhon scowled. He disappointedly passed what looked like five tokens to Rori and turned and walked away.

  “What just happened?” asked Dade.

  “It’s a contest that is going on,” said Nolan. “A bit childish, but essentially harmless fun.”

  “It’s odds and evens,” explained Rori. “You can put out one or two fingers. So can the other person. I chose evens. We both put out two fingers. That adds up to four. So . . .”

  “I know how to play odds and evens,” interrupted Dade. “It’s just the last time I played it, I had skinned knees and a toy sword. Why are you playing it?”

  “I forgot about this when we were planning the conclave,” said Rori. “They always have some sort of inter-clan contest. At the more aggressive conclaves it’s usually actual combat, but we wanted to keep this conclave friendly, so we didn’t want to go that route.”

  “So, you chose odds and evens?”

  “I didn’t choose anything. I told you; I forgot about it. The three host clans had already decided to do it when we arrived. Each clan has twenty tokens to distribute amongst its members. If you have a token and you challenge someone else, they have to play. The winner gets to keep all of the tokens. Eventually, one person will have them all and that clan wins.”

  “What if the person you choose doesn’t have a token?”

  “You still play. If you win, they have to tell you someone in their clan that does have tokens. If you lose and you have more than one token, you have to give them one.”

  “What if the conclave ends and it isn’t over?”

  “On the last night of the conclave there’s a huge party. At the party there will be a faceoff between anyone who still has tokens. If you don’t show up to the challenge you forfeit.”

  “I can’t believe I am this interested in this. How many tokens do you have?”

  “I lost count. Over a hundred I think.”

  “Over a hundred?”

  “Yeah. Actually, I’ve been trying to lose, but I just keep winning. I haven’t actually challenged anyone. They just keep challenging me.”

  “Seems harmless. Looks like it’s good for morale. I’ve seen worse plans. Heck, I’ve been forced to participate in worse plans.”

  “You want a token, don’t you?” asked Nolan with a broad grin.

  “Actually, yes.” Dade admitted with a slight smile of his own. “It’s silly and juvenile, but it’s also a safe way to interact with people you don’t know.”

  “You’re telling the truth,” said Nolan, “but you are leaving out the part where you want to win.”

  Dade just shrugged.

  “You can never truly take the boy out of the man,” said Kedra with a smile.

  “Go talk to Jaelle,” Rori said. “We intentionally saved a few tokens for the soldiers. She probably still has some.”

  “Okay, now explain the clan name. Who is Zenja?”

  “Nobody. It’s a Cunāe word that means ‘freedom’. That’s another thing decided by the others. Since we have five leaders it seemed wrong to give the clan one person’s name. So, they went with that instead. Actually, I kind of like it.”

  “Do I want to know what misli means?”

  “It means you went on a journey by yourself to try and figure out what you want to do. If you really want to be Cunāe or not. It’s not that uncommon. Mostly young men use it as an excuse to sow some wild oats.”

  “I’m probably a bit old for that, but it’s as good as an excuse as any. I need to head over to the wagon to put up this scabbard. I’ll talk to Jaelle when I do it. Do you want me to take yours too?” Dade asked Rori pointing to the two scabbards.

  “Sure, I’m going to go hunt down Ingstrom.”

  “I’ve got some things to do as well,” said Nolan.

  “I assume everyone else is information gathering as well?” asked Dade.

  “And other things,” said Nolan. “If they need anything they check in with whoever is around in the morning by the fire.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The three groups started to split up, but then Dade turned back and said, “Wait, Rori!”

  “Yes?”

  “That sausage?”

  Rori smiled and pointed. “You can get it most anywhere. But the best is in that blue wagon over there.”