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“We’ll make inquiries, but we shouldn’t expect him to know anything else beyond who may have cursed Salah’s family.” He dropped his eyes to my hands. “Are you alright?”
I looked down at what he was staring at and found that I had been rubbing my right hand around my left wrist. I gave him a sheepish grin. “I guess I’m still not used to the ribbon not being there.”
He stared ahead and pursed his lips. “We’ll get it back.”
“And the flute,” I reminded him as I winced. “I’d hate to leave behind a treasure of Validen.”
“What’s this about a treasure?” Qita spoke up.
“Merely my beloved’s wedding ring,” Ben replied. The cat wrinkled his whiskers but turned away from us.
The path widened slightly and we found ourselves at a bend in the road. The street curved leftward, but not before opening to a small clearing. A large ring of fire stones sat in the center, and around that were logs and overturned crates. A few figures huddled over a fire with something that resembled a chicken roasting over the flames.
They looked up at our coming and we were met with dirty looks, in both the literal and figurative senses. Their mud-stained cloaks and blackened hands bespoke a life living under the stars and in the caves that popped out of the ground at the bend in the street. Half a dozen round holes led at various slopes down into the earth. Blankets were used as doors, and some were open to reveal small hovels with clean floors covered in ragged blankets.
One of the burlier of the company stood to face us. The man was about sixty and as tall as Ben, with unruly shoulder-length hair that was speckled with gray. A scar ran down his left cheek and his left eye was covered with the tale-tell signs of blindness. The man seemed to favor one leg over the other, telling me he had a bit of a limp, as well, on that left side.
His dead eye didn’t lessen the keen look he gave us. “What’s wanted?”
“We’re looking for a friend who we were told lived in the third cave,” Ben told him.
The man narrowed his eyes at us. “He ain’t here.”
Ben gestured to two empty crates that sat side by side. “Might we stay until he arrives?”
Qita looked aghast at him. “Stayhere?Have you lost your senses?”
Ben smiled as he nodded at the bird on the spit. “Perhaps, but not my appetite, and I must say that animal smells delicious.”
“You won’t get it for free,” the burly man countered.
I nudged Ben’s arm with my elbow. “You might as well keep that purse out until we leave this place.”
He chuckled as he removed his coin pouch. “So it would seem. How much for a seat and a plate?”
The man held out his hand. “A couple of pieces of silver will get you that.”
Ben rummaged through the purse before he drew out his fisted hand and set the coin in the man’s palm. “I haven’t much small change, so will this do?”
The man’s eyes widened as he beheld a baron resting in his hand. “This much?”
Ben smiled and nodded at a tankard of clean water that sat near the fire. “Refreshing water is worth quite a bit, and my companion and I are parched.”
I couldn’t deny that my lips were already cracking in the dry desert air. The man shrugged as the coin disappeared into his pocket. “Suit yourself. Take as much water as you want, but the meat you’ll be having to share.”
Ben bowed his head and led us over to the boxes where we took our seats. Qita hopped onto the crate beside me and leaned forward to glare across me at Ben. “You take too much liberty with your wealth.”
Ben chuckled as he tucked his pouch into his pocket. “The advantage of being wealthy is you needn’t worry about taking too much liberty with it.”
“So what are you wanting with the guy who owns that hole?” the burly fellow asked us as he resumed his place at the spit.
Ben shrugged. “We were just seeking his advice. Jania told us he could be of some help.”
The man’s eyebrows shot up as a crooked smile slipped onto his lips. “She did, did she? How’d you pry that info out of her?”
“Let’s just say she, too, has received some coins for her service and wants a few more,” Ben mused.
The man slapped his bent knee and laughed. “That’s just like her. That prince must be paying out the well for her help.”
