This story actually belongs about fifteen chapters back. When Bolster is visiting North Cove.
Tseran Vyr’rel, Clan Vyr
Tseran Vyr’rel, son of the chief of Clan Vyr, strode through the gates of the city of Artanes with the easy confidence of a man who feared very little. Dust clung to his boots and the lining of his leather cloak while the wind sweeping down from Mother’s Mountain stirred the loose strands of dark hair hanging near his face.
His two closest friends walked beside him while the people of Mother’s Mountain turned to stare. The expressions around them immediately shifted toward caution. Tseran did not know whether it was he alone who made the people uncomfortable or Kesh’vyr, his six-year-old Khulan, whose reins he held loosely in one hand.
The massive bird clicked its hooked beak softly as it stalked beside him. Its feathered body stood taller than most men, powerful talons scraping against the stone road while its yellow eyes watched the crowds with unsettling intelligence. His mount and companion was intimidating, but Tseran suspected the mountain people would fear him even without the beast.
He was a Khulari of Thyrland.
They called it the Barren Lands.
He called it home.
A merchant selling honey-dipped fruit at a nearby stall had not noticed him yet. Tseran casually walked over and plucked one of the sticks from the display. Anger flashed across the man’s face, but he turned away without a care.
Tseran bit into the sweet fruit and laughed quietly to himself. Why should the man be angry? He had not even tried to stop him. If a man was unwilling to protect what belonged to him, then perhaps it had never truly been his.
As he continued down the street, he noticed several nearby vendors hurriedly beginning to hide their wares beneath cloth coverings. One man, however, did not move his goods.
The older merchant who sold gems and carved stone figurines simply sat behind his stall watching Tseran approach with narrowed eyes. Tseran left him alone. He had already learned that this particular merchant would fight back. Even if Tseran succeeded in taking something, he would usually end up with a dart buried somewhere in his body that left him paralyzed for several hours.
At first, Tseran had treated it like a game. See if he could steal something and escape. Then one day Kesh’vyr had been struck by one of the darts and became violently ill.
It was the only time Tseran had ever nearly spilled blood inside the city. Only the mountain people uniting together had prevented the merchant from being killed. Afterward, Tseran had been banned from the city for a time.
Technically, he was not even supposed to be here now. His father would skin him alive if he learned Tseran was willingly interacting with the mountain people. Everything Tseran traded for here, he claimed to have captured from travelers or stolen during raids. The truth was that Tseran enjoyed trading almost as much as he enjoyed taking things.
He was nearly finished with the fruit when the village chief approached him with a deep frown etched across his weathered face.
“Tseran, you will pay for what you have stolen,” the chief said.
Tseran shrugged lazily. “The man did not even try to stop me. So weak he had to send word to you just to receive payment.”
He tossed a small leather bag filled with spiced jula meat toward the chief. The old man caught it without difficulty. Eventually, it would find its way back to the fat merchant. Stealing from the market was simply the easiest way to get the chief’s attention. Much easier than searching the entire city for him.
“Do you have anything interesting to trade?” Tseran asked.
The chief shook his head. “Baron Bolster passed through a few days ago with two wagons full of goods.”
Tseran immediately perked up.
“He came himself?” His eyes lit with excitement. “What did you get?”
“Nothing.”
“He was heading toward a newly discovered pass through the mountains. The lord there apparently possesses truly remarkable items.”
A slow smile spread across the old chief’s face.
“Come to my house and let us discuss it. We have established a trade agreement with them. I can show you a few things, and I have no doubt the Baron will return with even more.”
Tseran nodded slowly while Kesh’vyr shifted restlessly beside him. It seemed he would either need to wait for the Baron’s return… or perhaps this new baron was worth visiting personally.
The real question was whether he should travel there to raid or to trade.