Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town Read Online Free Page B

a
quarrel victim.
                 “Hold him tightly. This will hurt a bit. On three. One. Two. Three.” The man
groaned; Zoran knew the quarrel had been extracted. “Ah, no blood being coughed up,
good sign. Here, tie a wad of cloth to his wound.” She moved on to the next one.
                 Bernard attended to another wounded guard, fastening make shift bandages to
his arm and leg. Meanwhile the six dogs kept a vigilant eye on the bandits, occasionally
growling, if they thought one was getting too far from the wagons. A half hour passed
and Zoran heard the sound of several horses coming their way from Brn. “Ah, bout
time,” Bernard called out. Eyeing Zoran’s curious look, he added, “Brn patrol. They’ll
take these vermin from us. Good thing too; we won’t have to march them in to the
Sheriff.” Zdenka flashed a smile, though he didn’t see it.
                 Four mounted riders wearing chain mail rode up. One called out, “Strom, what
happened here?” The unwounded drover explained that they were attacked by the dozen
bandits, and the four guards took charge of them at once. Five with arrows in their heads
were quite dead. These, the guards quickly searched, confiscating weapons, coin
pouches, and anything else of value. That same guard, evidently the one in charge Zoran
assumed, ordered the remaining bandits to start digging five graves.
                 He then came up to Zdenka, “Your work, I presume, Zdenka?”
                 “Aye. Twelve against four is hardly a fair fight,” she replied conservatively.
                 He chuckled, “Aye. Glad you were around. This is the third attack in a month.
Sheriff sent us out to patrol the road, hoping to find them. You’ve taken all our fun away,
ma’am.” He teased her. She smiled. “Here, present this stuff to the sheriff, and you and
your friends will get the reward. Get the wagons moving soon; those guards need
physician attention pronto.”
                 “Aye. Soon as we have them temporarily bandaged. It won’t do to have them
bleed to death before we get to Brn,” she replied. She helped several get up onto the
wagons, as did Bernard and Zoran. The three stood and watched the four wagons begin
moving on down the road into Brn.
                 At last, Bernard said, “I’m heading into Brn, Zdenka. By the way, thanks
stranger.”
                 “Zoran, sir. Mighty well trained dogs you have there. I’m heading into Brn myself.
Just got here late last night. Slept in yonder woods, when I was rudely awakened but the
swords. How far is it into Brn?” Of course he knew precisely where the walls were
located; he’d seen them when he had arrived last night, but he wanted to play the role of
traveler. Far less questions, besides, if he said he’d Shadow Walked here, everyone
would know he was a Duska and royalty. That was the last thing he wanted revealed
about himself.
                 “Hail Zoran,” the mellow alto voice said, as she walked up beside the two men.
Bernard’s dogs now trotted out in front of the three, slowly walking down the road some
distance from the wagons ahead. “Nice swordsmanship. Don’t see many with a flashy
style as yours in these parts, let alone two short swords. Some say those are not a ‘man’s’
weapons.” Zoran recognized her teasing probe. Indeed, he had defied all traditions by
not choosing a broadsword, bastard sword, or possibly a giant two handed sword.
                 He grinned, “I’m not from around these parts. By the way, that was some
incredible archery you did back there. Impressive, to say the very least.”
                 It was Zdenka’s turn to smile, “Aye, but I was off my mark twice. The shots were
supposed to be right here,” she put her finger right between Zoran’s eyes on his forehead
just above his nose. “I missed by an inch both