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.He said asmuch to anyone who asked.Yes, he had a magic sword once, and yes, he had killed a shatra with it, andyes, he even admitted to having served as an assassin when that story finally surfaced but all he wasnow was an innkeeper.That was what he told the doddering wizard who wanted to hire him to fetch the ingredients for a certainunspecified spell and what he told the self-proclaimed mercenary captain who was trying to raise acompany of war heroes to fight in the continuing border squabbles in the Small Kingdoms.From whatValder had heard from his guests, these little conflicts were too small to be considered real wars.The"captain," who had never risen above sergeant in the Great War, believed a small group of experiencedmen could make a big difference.Valder suspected he was quite correct in that, but was not interested inbeing one of those men and said as much.He liked being an innkeeper.He enjoyed hearing his guests talk of their travels, their hopes, their goals.He enjoyed seeing the weary to bed, feeding the hungry, and serving drink to the thirsty, and watchingtheir faces relax as their problems faded.As an innkeeper, he took no great risks.True, he made no greatgains, but that did not bother him.He had not killed anyone since the end of the war, nor had anyoneseriously attempted to kill him he discounted a few drunken threats from men who could barely stand,let alone fight.The worst problem he ever confronted as an innkeeper, once he had found reliablesuppliers of food and drink, was an occasional boisterous drunk, and the one advantage he saw in hisgrowing fame as Valder of the Magic Sword was that troublemakers who had heard of his reputationavoided him.As the inn's proprietor, he was his own man; admittedly, he took orders from hiscustomers, but only when he chose to.It was nothing like the military.Yes, he liked being an innkeeper.It was infinitely more enjoyable than being an assassin or anadventurer.He preferred Wirikidor over the mantel, not on his belt.He had to repeat this often.Thetalkative Selmer and the various guests who had overheard his conversation with Sadra or with otherswho had tried to coax him away spread his fame far and wide.In general, Valder did not mind; he ratherenjoyed being famous and suspected that his reputation drew business that might otherwise have passedup the Inn at the Bridge in favor of other, newer inns that had sprung up along the highways.aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBB r rHe turned down offers that ranged from dull and dangerous to downright bizarre, requests for aid fromsilk-robed aristocrats and starving children the latter leaving disappointed, but always well fed.Herefused to rescue princesses, slay dragons, depose tyrants, locate lost siblings, kill pirates, loot tombs,battle wizards, terrorize witches, dispose of demons, settle boundary disputes, and search for everythingfrom ancient magical treasures to a missing cat.Whenever possible, he tried to suggest someone whomight serve in his stead.He was dismayed that, even safely sheathed, Wirikidor was still affecting hislife.He suspected that nobody ever believed him when he said that he enjoyed innkeeping, that manythought him a coward or a fraud.When a messenger from Gor of the Rocks came to ask if he hadreconsidered his retirement, Valder turned him down politely, as he had all the rest, and was relievedwhen the man departed peacefully, apparently convinced that Valder was a harmless coward.Nobody, not even Tandellin, believed that all he wanted was to be an innkeeper, but it was the entiretruth.CHAPTER 23The Inn at the Bridge flourished.Valder flourished with it, and in fact all the World seemed to be doingwell once the initial confusion had passed.In 5000 the three overlords of the Hegemony of the Three Ethshars announced that the last northernstragglers had been eliminated and the last vestiges of the Empire destroyed.In celebration, the annualFestival that began 5001 ran for seven days instead of the traditional five.A few realists pointed out thatthis corrected astrological errors resulting from wartime neglect of the calendar, but they were generallyignored in the widespread merry-making.That was the year that Valder finally got glass panes in all his windows.In 5002 the northern territories surrounding Sardiron of the Waters refused to acknowledge the rule ofthe Hegemony when tax collectors came around.Instead they set themselves up as an array of baroniesunder the erstwhile officers of the occupying armies, with a high council meeting at Sardiron itself.Thetriumvirate, well aware that the people of the Hegemony wanted no more war, did nothing about it.Therumor circulated that Azrad and Gor had decided to wait, outvoting Anaran, in hopes that the baronieswould tear themselves apart in petty rivalries as the Small Kingdoms had done, allowing the Hegemonyto move in and pick up the pieces.If the rumor was true, this appeared to be a miscalculation; no reportscame of internecine strife in the north.Instead, caravans came down the highways and.barges down theGreat River, filling Valder's guest rooms and his purse.Valder heard all the news and all the rumors from his guests, but paid little attention.That was the yearhe finally considered his cellar to be adequate, with thirty wines, a dozen ales and beers, and bothbrandy and oushka in stock.One of his former workmen now fan a brewery and provided much of hissupply.His staff was down to just himself, Sarai, Tandellin, and Part.By 5005 virtually all the veterans were settled, and the offer of free land was discontinued.Almost allthe old battlefields were now farms, and the vast grasslands that had stretched from the Great River tothe western ocean had been plowed under and sown with com and wheat and barley.Ethshar of theRocks and Ethshar of the Sands were real cities now, rivals but never quite equals of Azrad'saaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc
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