Tamlyn by James Moloney Read Free Book Online Page A

which was very welcome because we hadn’t brought any with us.
    â€˜We can’t pay you,’ I said.
    â€˜Don’t worry about it. We’d offer you more, but the religo was here yesterday for his annual …’ The man looked around and I wondered if he was tempted to say ‘theft’ but he played it safe. ‘Visit.’
    We rested for half an hour and then Ryall was hoisted into place above Tamlyn’s head — with the help of the villagers this time — and we were on our way again. Towards evening, we saw wagons in the distance, turning off the road towards a grand mansion we could see on the rise.
    â€˜The religo on his rounds,’ Tamlyn remarked. ‘I sense Wyrdborn among the wagons.’
    With the day fading into dusk, we arrived in a village from where the religo’s wagons had only recently departed. Even in the poor light I saw utter despair in the faces of the men we passed, and many of the women were weeping openly. They barely seemed to notice the remarkable sight Tamlyn made with the stretcher above his head. He lowered it outside the inn and we asked if there were any jobs we could do there to earn something to eat.
    â€˜Something to eat,’ the innkeeper repeated bitterly. ‘There’s nothing to spare, I’m afraid, even if you carried a sack of gold. Our religo was here just this afternoon and now we’ll need every last morsel for ourselves, just to survive.’
    â€˜We saw the wagons on the road,’ I said. ‘It’s the same in my own village. We’ll struggle this winter, too.’
    â€˜I’m sure you will, but you won’t starve, will you? I tell you, people will die in this village before spring.’
    His wife came out of the inn to see who he was speaking to. She held a two year old in her arms and the innkeeper’s face grew more miserable as he looked at the child.
    â€˜Did the religo take too much?’ I asked.
    â€˜No, he took the same as last year.’
    â€˜A bad harvest, then?’ asked Tamlyn, as concerned as I was.
    â€˜No, it was a better year than most.’ He could see further questions coming and saved us the trouble of asking them. ‘This village is claimed by two religos and rather than fight for the right to plunder us, each simply takes his full due.’
    â€˜And you can’t stop them?’ I asked.
    â€˜How can we stop them when they bring Wyrdborn to threaten us? They are monsters and only a fool defies them.’
    I understood his anger. Hadn’t I witnessed the humiliation of good men like my father year after year when none dared challenge the religo’s greed because of his Wyrdborn’s menace? I looked at Tamlyn’s face and found it glowing with shame because he was one of the monsters the innkeeper had referred to.
    â€˜Can’t you go to the king and ask him to rule in favour of one or the other?’ he asked.
    The innkeeper threw back his head and laughed. ‘Do you think Chatiny gives a damn about us, or disputes between his religos?’
    â€˜It’s his role,’ Tamlyn said.
    â€˜King Chatiny’s role is to plunder the entire kingdom, if you ask me. Why would he step between two of his lords when he takes a share of the tribute from each?’ At this, his wife went inside again, leaving her husband to continue, ‘If you have no money, I can’t give you a room for the night, but there’s a stable at the back. You two and your injured friend are welcome to sleep on the straw. The animals will keep you warm.’
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    In the stable, we carefully lifted Ryall from the stretcher and laid him on the straw, which was clean and dry. He wouldn’t have been any more comfortable inside the inn, especially after the innkeeper’s wife brought us each a blanket.
    â€˜What my husband said about the food is true,’ she told us. ‘I’m sorry to leave you hungry, but I must save all we have