To Castille
"Castille?" Bevier demanded from his horse, "Andre, are you mad?" The Castillian flipped a saddlebag over his horse, "No, but I will be�" he pointed toward his companion meaningfully, " If you say that again."
"But I'm�" Bevier pointed to himself, "And there's a war going on over there, or so I'm told." "So you're Montaigne, so what? You said that you would help me, so help me�" "It'll be hard to help you if I'm dead, Andre�" "Nothing's going to happen, Bevier," Andre grabbed the saddle and hoisted himself into it. "You are mad, of course, you're hoping that something does happen, or you wouldn't be going there." Andre pulled his horse closer to his companion, "Look we haven't exactly got a lot of clues here�" "What about that Vodacce fellow, we got his name, DeCirci or whatever�" "Reynaldo DeRicci�" Andre corrected. "Yes, we have his name, which is more than we have on the others�" Andre shook his head, "We can't go to Vodacce, Bevier, I�" After a moment of hesitation, "There's just too much that I don't know there, Bevier," Another pause, "Its too mixed up." "Too much is still missing, you mean, and Calyanni's still there�" Andre began to lead his horse gesturing for Bevier to follow, with a reluctant shake of the head, Bevier did just that. "I don't know that he is still there, and if he is, I still don't why he did what he did�" "Alright, Vodacce is out, but what about the others?" "The Avalons? Or the Eisen?" "Either one, as far as I'm concerned." "Other than the nationality, we've got nothing." "The Eisen was to reportedly possess a dracheneisen panzerhand, that's hardly nothing, Andre�" "But its not as telling as a true Soldano blade, Bevier." The Montaigne rolled his eyes, "This Soldano blade, are you sure about it?" "Yes, I remember seeing one in my youth�" "How are you sure that this peddler that you got that little bit from, wasn't telling you what you wanted to hear?" "You're really grasping aren't you?" Andre asked back as he turned to face Bevier, "His description was too good and he was just a little too drunk to fool me." Andre sighed, "You've just going to have to borrow some of my clothes for awhile, Bevier�" "That's really what I'm worried about, Andre, me wearing your clothes�" "What's wrong with my clothes?" "They're worn, is all." Bevier said, "And some are in definite need of cleaning." "They're just stained�" "Stained? Stained is just another word for dirty�" "And that perfume�" "Its called cologne, Andre," Bevier protested, "And what about it?" "Castillians smell like three things, dirt, sweat, or liquor, none of those smell like that�" "I think that's the general idea, Andre." "Not in Castille, it isn't." "So you're telling that while I'm fearing for my life in a country that my peers are currently warring over, I also have to dress in shoddy clothes and smell like a drunk or a peasant�" "Are you telling me that I'm a drunk?" "Did you or did you not buy a complete bottle of that sludge you Castillians call drink from that Charese person?" "It's not�" Andre threw up his hands, "You win, you win. This one." "But we're still going to Castille, aren't we?" "Yes." "So you won the one that mattered," Bevier observed. "You could look at it that way," Andre smiled, "What's the worst that could happen?" "Let me see, I could be hung." Bevier brought his horse up to his friend, "For being a Montaigne spy�" "Ah�"Andre nodded, "Aren't you a Montaigne spy?" "Maybe I could get shot before being set to trial, what do you Castillians view as more insulting, disparaging your women, your wine, or your family? By the way, I'm not a spy." "Not a spy?" Andre considered, "They're all pretty much the same, but if you insult all three in one sentence, I suppose, that would have the desired effect of getting shot and/or stabbed�" The Montaigne protested, "No. No stabbing. One nice clean gunshot." "Would you like me to shoot you?" "If you wouldn't mind, kind sir." "Not a bit, my friend."Return to Uncommon Valor