20 - The Tavern Girl
As winter took its grip on the countryside, life settled into a comfortable routine for the Sons and Daughters of the North. There was hunting - a pastime much enjoyed by the King, in the cold of winter just as in the heat of summer. Game was plentiful, even in the frigid weather, and that in turn led to frequent feasting and merriment. And there were winter celebrations - different to any observed in the City - such as the festival of Hule where the birth of Wodh was marked on the shortest day of the season.
Meanwhile Taneric's education continued. Peto taught him the arts of combat and strategies of battle during the mornings and, in the afternoons, he was educated by priests in the ways of Wodh and in the history and lore of the North. In the evenings he studied the arts and philosophy under the tutorship of great southern scholars, brought to Vosgir through the patronage of King Alfard. And if he ever looked backwards to the pleasures of the Temple, if he experienced cravings that must be satisfied, if he felt the call of the Goddess, none knew but Princess Kasmine who would sometimes welcome him to her bedchamber at night, greeting him as 'Tak' - never Taneric. His more prosaic lusts - for ale and girls - were easily satisfied in Vosgir's taverns.
The incident with Nikah and Hanja at the gates of Vosgir weighed heavily on Taneric's mind during those winter days. Others looked to him for explanations that he could not provide - Why such a strong chase? Why the horrible gag? Why would Hanja not accept the hospitality offered by Taneric, when her right to the boy Nikah had clearly been acknowledged? Taneric could not answer their questions. But he resolved to visit the City in the spring to seek answers. And, while he did not discuss his intentions with his father or with Ostin, he was determined that he would return to Vosgir with Nikah alongside him.
The recent ascension in the Eastern Kingdom was a frequent matter of discussion between Taneric, King Alfard and Ostin during that cold winter. It was clear that the City would no longer enjoy the steady supply of eastern boys brought to it's markets by Cargian slavers. But what if Zantina should be minded to take a further step and extract those already held, as the North had done for its sons and daughters fourteen summers previously? Harl had steadfastly refused to be drawn on the matter as he rode from Casbar with the column of the North. Furthermore, it had to be 'assumed', as Ostin put it, that Queen Zantina's offer of marriage, made to Taneric in apparent jest, was in fact serious, or would certainly become so in the course of time. Taneric sensed that his father looked favourably upon the match, but was reluctant to apply force - 'You will marry when you are ready my son, and you alone shall choose your bride'. But Taneric, by now having begun his education in matters of state, could see the merit of such an idea. 'A monarch acts in the interests of his people' he had been taught. That is the difference between a loved King Alfard and a hated, and notably dead, King Charton. And Taneric had not found his experience with Queen Zantina unpleasant; she was beautiful, intelligent and playful. There was, of course, the matter of her cruelty on the night of the coronation. But the victims were Cargian slavers and, as Peto pointed out, King Alfard had done worse in the days after Taneric's abduction.
Taneric had much to consider that winter. And then, on a cold night, as he walked by a tavern on one of Vosgir's muddy streets, he heard a soft voice calling to him from its half open door.
"Not tonight young lady," he replied. "I have enjoyed my fill of ale and I seek solitude in my own bed."
"But Prince Taneric, Tak, do you not recognize me?"
Now curious, he stared over. She was a dark girl, taller than average, and pretty.
"Of course, you were at the tavern in the City that afternoon. My brother Nikah and I shared you and your companion! At least until we were rudely pulled away." He winced remembering it.
"Yes Taneric. My name is Ovala, I do not think I told it to you before. I heard stories of your good fortune. It is well known around the City. Please come in Taneric, it is so cold in this doorway. Surely you have room for one more cup of ale?"