“All the time you have spent trailing me, Tauri Slow-Brain, and you did not realize what I was?” Iskondra taunted, holding the sword with the point towards him.
“Heard stories,” he said. “Heard might be wizard. Heard word ‘blade-bond’. Did not appreciate full significance.”
“I suppose there aren’t a lot of us in the north part of the world,” she said. “Suffice it to say that I am a sort of wizard… a wizard with a blade.”
She made a few quick, short slashes in the air and the long sword gleamed with more than reflected lantern light. She held her empty left hand out to the side, weaving complex gestures. The glow of the sword increased, and then an almost tangible blue light enveloped her left hand.
“You caught me momentarily off my guard, Tauri Thick-Skull,” she said. “But I daresay you would be hard pressed indeed to defeat me in a fair fight.”
“Wizard tricks,” Tauri growled. He slinked back away from her, putting himself closer to the exit but also blocking her from reaching it. “Next time catch, won’t wait for big speech.”
“The next time I see you, I shan’t feel obligated to dispense useful advice,” she said.
“House of Hulgar will be repaid,” Tauri said.
“I am perfectly amenable to that and I thought I made it clear that I have every intention of making certain they receive the full sum that they are owed,” Iskondra said.
Tauri held out a clawed hand, palm up.
“At a later date, obviously,” Iskondra said. “But still, I am clearly more dedicated to the concept of restoring remuneration than they are. I wonder at how they do things in these northlands. Do they tend their fields by digging all the seeds out of the ground before they have sprouted and then wonder why they are hungry in the winter? If I could just be given a little more time, I can promise the House of Hulgar a full yield.”
“More words,” Tauri said. “Father had other saying: empty talk fill coffer like empty plate fill stomach.”
“For a man who doesn’t seem to have cared for talking, your father seems to have had an awful lot of sayings,” Iskondra said.
“Two sayings,” Tauri said. “Hardly trend.”
“Are you telling me he didn’t have more?” Iskondra asked, raising an eye ridge.
“Not telling anything,” Tauri said. “Father had saying…” Iskondra’s thin lips twitched. “Damn!” he swore, blinking his eyes in frustration, and Iskondra lunged forward while he was distracted.
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