“Where’s the Prince’s army?” asked Duncan.
Roo said, “Off on the Prince’s business, I should think.” Sarth lay within the boundaries of the Principality of Krondor, which meant it had no local earl, baron, or duke to answer to, and to provide protection. Krondorian soldiers would ride a regular patrol from the boundary between the Principality and the Duchy of Yabon to the north to the City of Krondor itself. But for local problems, a militia, watch, or town constable would have primary responsibility to keep the peace until such a patrol arrived, or answered a request for help.
Roo and Duncan had been pleased with the beginning of the journey. Roo had tendered his resignation from Barret’s, and had been surprised to hear something akin to regret from McKeller. He promised Jason that should fate take a kind turn, he might find him a position that matched his wit someday.
Helmut Grindle had been straightforward enough about bringing Roo into the business. He had spoken several times of matching the boy, as Grindle called Roo, with his daughter, Karli. A couple of passing references had caused the girl to blush when she was in earshot, but Grindle had at no time bothered to ask his daughter what she thought of the matter.
Roo had joked with Erik about marrying Helmut Grindle’s ugly daughter, and now that the reality was before him, he wondered at his quips. The girl wasn’t ugly, just not very attractive, but then neither was Roo, so he didn’t think much about that. He knew that if he were to become rich enough he could afford pretty mistresses, and that his primary obligation to Grindle would be to keep his daughter fat with child and ensure that the old man’s grandchildren were well fed and provided for. Roo also knew that if he could build upon what Grindle already had in his possession, he stood to inherit—or, rather, Karli stood to inherit, which would be the same thing—quite a tidy sum, and that with that to work with, why, there was no limit to his future.
Roo had talked with Duncan about several plans he had, but Duncan’s interest in business was cursory, beginning and ending with when he would be paid and how much, and where the nearest whore or willing barmaid might be found. Traveling with Duncan had been an education for Roo, and he found himself more likely to spend the night with a tavern wench than alone because of Duncan’s influence, but he was constantly amazed at how focused Duncan could become on wooing an innkeeper’s pretty daughter. The man had a passion for women that far exceeded Roo’s normal young male appetite.
Duncan, on the other hand, had absolutely none of Roo’s passion for riches. He had traveled, fought, loved, drunk, and ate, and his dreams were not shared. But while easy money appealed to him, hard-earned money was something that would never come his way.
Roo drove through the south end of Sarth, and when he saw a store with a broken-in door, he pulled over. “Keep an eye on things,” he said to Duncan as he jumped down from the buckboard.
He entered the establishment and saw at once it had been totally ransacked. “Good day,” he said to the merchant, who looked at him with an expression halfway between irritation and hopelessness.
“Good day, sir,” said the merchant “As you can see, I am unable to conduct business in my usual manner.”
Roo studied the merchant, a middle-aged man with an expanding middle. “So I’ve heard. I’m a trader, by name Rupert Avery,” he said, sticking out his hand. “I’m on my way to Ylith, but perhaps I may be of some service.”
The merchant shook in a distracted manner and said, “I’m John Vinci. What do you mean?”
“I am a trader, as I said, and I am able perhaps to provide some goods that you may need to replace your pillaged stores.”
The man’s manner changed instantly, and he regarded Roo with a studied expression, as if suddenly he had wagered every coin he owned on the outcome of a bet. “What sort of goods?”
“Only the finest, and I am embarked upon a journey to Ylith, and was planning on purchasing goods to return to Krondor, but I may be able to add a leg, as it were, providing you can, in turn, trade with me those goods I was seeking to purchase in Ylith.”
The man said, “What manner of goods?”
“Goods easily transported in small quantity, but of high enough quality to ensure me a profit”
The merchant studied Roo a moment, then nodded. “I understand. You trade in high-priced baubles for the nobility.”
“Something like that”
“Well, I need little in the way of finery, but I could certainly use a dozen bolts of sturdy linen, some needles of steel, and other goods required by the townspeople.”
Roo nodded. “I can take a list with me to Ylith and return within two weeks. What have you to offer?”