twenty bandits in the ambush. Whoever had coordinated the attack was not worried about money. It had probably cost more to hire the bandits than the caravan would bring in on the black market. Draishan wine was good, but there wasn’t a large amount of it. From what Bazur knew of Draishan artisans, the guard was being kind when he said the jewelry wasn’t anything special. But whoever was behind the ambush wasn’t Bazur’s problem. Despite wishing to honor his father somehow, he still preferred to battle with his blade, not his wits. After all, they still had a long way to go and with just over half of the royal guards had been killed or wounded in the attack, he would get many chances to test his blade again. “I suggest you get the caravan moving again. You can come back for your bodies once the goods are delivered.”
“Wise council. Who knows if there is another attack coming or not. The sooner we get out of these accursed lands the better,” said the second guard.
Bazur smiled. The badlands weren’t cursed. They were harsh and rugged. Only the strong survived in the badlands. It was his home now. It humored him that the legendary royal guards of Draisha were so worried about crossing the badlands. “I’ll scout ahead.”
5
DRAISHA
KYRA followed the menacing looking royal palace guard as he led her deeper into the palace. As they walked down a veritable maze of corridors and down secluded stairwells, it became apparent to Kyra they were not going to one of the normal palace meeting chambers. Kyra knew a little of the palace, what good thief wouldn’t? However, even she hadn’t known the full extent of the palace. They were already two levels below what she had thought to be the palace basement.
The royal palace guard stopped at the end of the dark narrow corridor and pointed into the next room. “Wait in there.” The surely looking fellow turned and started back down the corridor.
Kyra walked into the room. It was large and empty, with the notable exception of a few statues and a collection of paintings on the walls. The torch lit chamber was not the best place to experience such art. The poor flickering light created shadows that danced over the paintings. Normally, with only a minute or two of studying a painting, Kyra could replicate a near perfect forgery. However, in this lighting, she could not trust her eyes to produce a true image. A pity, she thought to herself. An amused smile crept across her face. Had the prince purposely chosen this room to tease her? Or did he have a different reason for the clandestine meeting being held in a hidden part of the palace?
“It’s a lovely collection, isn’t it?”
Kyra turned to see the prince standing behind her. He had not come through one of the two corridors into the room. She’d purposely been standing in a position where she could see the exits. The prince obviously had a hidden doorway to this room. “Yes, it is a beautiful collection. I recognize a few of the paintings as being Draishan artists, but most are foreign works. The statues in particular are elvish works.”
“Good eye. Yes, the statues are elvish, except for the one in the far corner. That one is actually from an orc artist. I have art works from all over the known world. If a culture produces art, I try to find it. I believe you can learn a lot from studying other cultures, their art included,” said Prince Valentine.
“I have no doubt,” said Kyra. “But I don’t think you brought me here for a lesson in world cultures.”
“No,” said the prince with a small smile. “I did learn you have an appreciation of the arts, that you are a rather talented artist yourself. I thought you’d appreciate this collection more than most.”
Kyra kept her facial expression neutral as the prince mentioned her art. That he knew so much about her was concerning. Her clients never knew who was forging their paintings or documents. It was why she used Hoggard as an intermediate.