The Vampire & Her Witch

Owain shook off thoughts about his family and returned his attention to his spineless steward. Privately, he wondered what Lord Hanrahan had done to his bastard child to leave him so skittish and eager to please. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was genuinely talented at his actual duties, he’d have done as Hugo’s father had and found a way to rid himself of the cowardly knight, but now, all he could do was try to hammer the poor man into shape and hope that a trial by fire would be enough to turn pig-iron into refined steel.

”My father-in-law is far too busy managing the affairs of this busy county to spend time giving me pointless introductions,” Owain said, waving the thought off like it was trivial. ”Besides, if he attended, the merchants would negotiate with him instead of negotiating with me and I don’t want that at all. Better that he stays out of it.”

”Besides,” Sir Rian said, attempting to mimic his lord’s disdainful attitude. ”Didn’t he send most of his available knights to escort Lady Jocelynn and protect Lady Ashlynn until she gives birth? This is only a county, he can’t have as many knights to spare as Lothian March does.”

”Enough about the Blackwells,” Owain said more sharply than he’d intended. Reminders of Ashlynn were always a sensitive matter with him, but ever since the nights he spent entertaining her at the Summer Villa, reminders of Jocelynn were even more sensitive. If he wanted anyone with him while handling these merchants, it would be her.

It might not be appropriate to involve a delicate lady in matters of commerce but in the few nights he’d spent talking to her about his upcoming trip, he’d come to realize that the education she’d received from Rhys Blackwell wasn’t any worse than his own.

She might not be clever enough to put all of the pieces together the way he could, she lacked a mind for strategy, but she had a talent for offering up useful pieces of information at the best times in ways that let him refine his own plans and strategies.

Now that he was preparing to put her experience with these merchant guild masters to use, he found himself wishing she were here at his side to whisper in his ear all the things he couldn’t possibly have learned from her in the short time that they spent together.

”Rian, keep a tight hold on that chest and don’t lose sight of its contents once this Master Sebastian starts to examine them,” Owain reminded the portly knight for what felt like the tenth time.

The iron bound chest sitting on the floor of the carriage was their bargaining tool for this round of negotiations. Most of the riches that Bors Lothian had plundered from Airgead Mountain had been spent in the years since his campaign against the demons, but a few treasures remained. Enough, Owain thought, to spark the greed of simple merchants eager to find easy profits.

Tonight, they would meet with the most important of the guilds on Owain’s list. It was necessary to enlist the support of the Fellowship of Wayfinders to begin ferrying soldiers and knights across the sea from the old countries under the Church’s declaration of Holy War as soon as possible.

In the fall and winter, storms would make the seas difficult to navigate and prices would soar tremendously for transporting men. The delays caused by his need to ’redeem himself’ for the incident that claimed the life of two of his knights at the Summer Villa followed by the Holy Festival of Light had already cost them an entire month. Any further delays might push back the start of the war by an entire year if they had to wait on weather to assemble their army.

”We’re here, my lords,” the carriage driver’s voice called, interrupting their thoughts as they arrived at the sprawling building that served as the beating heart of the Fellowship of Wayfinders. Flags bearing the guild’s crest snapped in the cool wind blowing off the harbor and all manor of men from sailors to traders packed into the plaza before the building as they rushed to or from the many ships in the harbor, many hoping to finish their business before tides shifted and ships set sail.

When they arrived, several smartly dressed servants formed neat lines to meet the carriage and a footman raced to personally open the door and help Lord Owain and his knights down from the carriage.

At the end of the line of servants, two elegantly dressed figures waited for Owain to reach them at the entrance to the guildhall. If it had been Marquis Bors Lothian arriving, they would have come to his carriage door and knelt until he acknowledged them, but for his presumed heir, they were far more reserved. After all, Owain might be a young lord, but this was business and yielding too much ground to the opposing side from the very beginning would only hurt them in the end.

”Welcome, young Lord Owain,” Master Sebastian said with a brilliant, toothy grin beneath his bushy white mustache. ”I’m Master Sebastian, Guild Master of the Fellowship of Wayfinders,” he said while offering a polite bow. ”Come, the journey must have been a long one and I’m sure you’d be more comfortable inside. I’ve had our chefs prepare their finest dishes from this morning’s catch, I promise, it won’t disappoint you.”

”Master Sebastian,” Owain said, putting on a charming smile of his own as he extended a hand. When he shook the old merchant’s hand, he was surprised at the strength in the other man’s grip, but even more surprising was the familiar feel of sword calouses on the other man’s hand. Jocelynn, it seemed, had been right about the sorts of lives that ship captains led.

The realization made him glad that he’d chosen to meet with the Fellowship of Wayfinders first. If he could hammer out a deal between warriors he was certain that the other man wouldn’t press him as hard for funds he didn’t have. With one guild onboard, the others would fall in line like dominoes, each one accepting his terms because the others already had.

”And who is this charming lady?” Owain said, his dashing charm on full display as he reached out to take the hand of the woman who had accompanied Master Sebastion. ”Do I have the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Master Sebastian?” Owain asked.

”Lord of Light, where are my manners,” Sebastian said with a harmless laugh. ”My young lord Owain, may I present Master Isabell, currently the Guildmaster of the Illustrious Company of Engineers,” he said, gesturing to the steel haired woman beside him. ”I’m afraid that my accomplishments as a sailor weren’t the sort of things that would have caught her eye, but I promise, you’ll find her more entertaining company than my old lady,” he said with a wide grin.

”My lord Owan,” Isabell said, offering a brief curtsey. ”As my old friend Sebastian said, I’m sure you’ll find the feast we’ve prepared to be delightful and the others Guild Masters are already present and waiting. Shall we head upstairs to meet them?”

”Other Guild Masters?” Owain said, blinking in surprise. Isabell’s presence was already a minor shock. He’d never contacted her Illustrious Company of Engineers and he didn’t intend to until war preparations were much further along. If she was Master Sebastian’s wife, he could understand, but since that wasn’t the case, what business did she have attending this meeting? And now it sounded like there were other Masters gathered as well?

Just what were these merchants up to?