25 Dov

  Sara shook her head, knowing that she might be in trouble if no one would believe her.

  “Do not worry, child,” the man said, waving up to the sky, “I saw the giant and the dragon, so I know you must be speaking the truth. One would think that a creature of that magnificence would rather die, than travel with a giant. And if you are trying to escape from them, the best place to go would be the village to the south."

  "What did you say your name was?” Sara asked, trying to ask for the man’s name politely. Sara knew that it could be unsafe if the wrong person in this foreign kingdom knew that the princess of Rishona was here and unprotected. She decided instead to say, "My name is Sari."

  "That's an unusual name," the man said. "My name is Dov. And if you will trust me, I will take you down to the village and introduce you to Abba-Avi. I am sure he will help."

  Sara still stayed where she was.

  The man laughed as he set down the cart, leaving it where it was. He turned to return the direction he had come from. and waved Sara over to walk beside him.

  "Come, child, I am safe."

  Sara asked, “Then why do you hide your face under a cloak?"

  The man huffed, "Well, I am not the best-looking man in the world, and some people are offended at my looks."

  "Oh," Sara said. "I promise I will not be.”

  “Do not promise what you cannot keep, girl."

  He reached up and drew back his hood. If the skin on his hands showed anything, it was nothing compared to the wrinkles and the fluff that were on his face, forehead, and neck.

  "Can you see why people would be offended?” He said,

  Sara could, but she tried not to show any shock or revulsion. She knew people could be offended, but she had seen people who looked nice who weren’t nice, and people who didn't look nice but were quite trustworthy.

  Sara remembered the story of Lord Odom. It was said that the lord was not a good-looking man in his youth, though Sara thought he looked nice now. Mistress Carmarthen had said that because he was a good man and a just noble, the women of the court almost came to blows over him. So, Sara decided that until otherwise she would trust this man.

  She nodded and said, "Yes, I can see why people would be offended. But, people are more than they are on the outside. Much more! Or much less," she added.

  The man nodded. "You have wisdom for a girl so young. You have much wisdom. So come follow me, and if I were you, I would not say anything about a dragon or maybe even where you are from.”

  Sara nodded, and Dov continued, “Don't ask any questions of the people in the village. They are very, very cautious. Their lord is a dangerous man and has been known to send spies into their midst."

  He turned and started walking to the south. She started walking a little faster until she was walking nearly beside him, yet still a step behind.

  "Well, I am guessing,” the man said, “that Sari is not your real name."

  Sara didn't say anything for a moment, but then asked, "Is Dov yours?"

  The man laughed. "Well questioned, well questioned. No, it is the name I use. My name can be. Well, the name I went by before would not be well received and would cause a lot of confusion. I try to do good here, so I go by the name of Dov."

  Sara nodded.

  Sara still paused, not knowing what history the man might have, and she wondered if she should be afraid of him. Finally, something inside of her said this man was more than he seemed, and his unwillingness to give information about his past could be concerning. Sara wondered if he had not been a very good man, or at least did not have a good reputation, but his willingness to admit he had a questionable past gave her a level of trust. Deciding she could trust him somewhat, Sara stepped up to walk beside the man.

  She thought that if Dov gave her that level of trust. She was going to show it in return.

  Sara paused and looked at the man, which caused him to pause also and look her straight in the face.

  “My name is” Sara began to confess

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “NO!” Dov almost shouted and took half a step back, “do not tell me and do not tell anyone else. This area is dangerous.” With that, the man looked around and then whispered. “It is dangerous. As I said, the lord of this land sends spies into this area. He is a cruel man with strange ideas.”

  The man moved back to where he was and continued in a whisper, “In fact, to show you, Abba-Avi, the man I am taking you to was a man who had a lot of curiosity. It nearly got him killed. His oldest son died just for speaking the lord’s name. Since then, no one has spoken of it. No one will even ask where you are from, and no one in the village will tell you the name of the place where they live. Some probably don't even know because they have never been allowed to leave the village or ask about anywhere except the lord’s manor. So do not speak about where you come from or who you are. I will talk to Abba-Avi, and he will help you, but tell no one else. In fact, I will tell them that you are an orphan."

  Sara smiled, knowing that that was the truth.

  Dov continued, “I will say that I brought you here to find a new home. A new livelihood that will work well, it would work very well.”

  Sara nodded, "Yes, thank you."

  "Like I said, remember, do not tell anyone who you are and never ask any questions. The people here work hard. They try to enjoy the life they can, but” the man shook his head. "It's hard for them."

  They took a few more steps, and the man snapped his fingers. He looked over at her pack and said, "Do you have any coins or valuables?"

  Sara began to say yes, but again Dov held up his hands, "No, no, no. I do not want to know and tell no one else. Coin is also illegal. All coins are to be surrendered to the lord. So hide them and tell no one.”

  Sara wondered if she should throw them away, but before she could come to a decision, Dov advised, “Do not give them up because I can tell from your walk you have a place in mind you want to go, eventually. You will need whatever you have to get there, but do not let anyone here know it. It will either cause them to think that you are a spy or, worse, a thief, and that's a dangerous thing to be around here. It's one of the few things they will not wait for the lord to punish a person for. A thief does not get a trial. They just punish him.”

  Dov continued, “Nothing is punished around here except that it affects the lord’s purse. His law means sometimes bandits and others get away with things because if it doesn’t cost him, he doesn’t care. He also rewards his serfs for giving him information on anything they think he might find interesting. Those the lord finds interesting or useful disappear, so be neither.”

  Sara knew now she could not be in Rishona, or anywhere on the continent of Zuri. Unless she was in Ganef, she couldn’t imagine that kingdom of warlords would be like this. What kind of lord would put these laws into effect? Would say these kinds of things? Why would his people be punished for even speaking his name?

  Sara paused and said, "Do they at least worship the Creator?"

  "Yes, the serfs try to. It is the one day of the week that the lord of this area will not ask them to work."

  “Is their faith weak?" Sara asked.

  "Well, maybe not weak. Maybe tested. The very fact that they still say their prayers despite everything that goes on says something about these people. They have a good heart. They are just very tired."

  "Ah! There is the edge of the village.” Dov said, pointing ahead, “We will be there momentarily. In the meantime, like I said, do not say anything about who you are. Do not let anyone know if you have anything of value. This is for your safety and, to be honest, for theirs.”

  Dov gave a humorless laugh. “If they gathered the coin and offered it to the lord. The lord would not even believe they got it legally; it is more likely his soldiers would steal the coin and beat or kill the person who had it."

  Dov pointed his finger at Sara, "So be careful."

  Sara nodded and asked, "If I can ask before we get there, what is the name of the village?"

  "Home is what most people call it."

  "Home?"

  Dav shook his head. "This lord has strange ideas. Something about powers of names or something like that."

  Sara nodded. She had heard lords arguing about the powers of names and making sure the wrong people didn't get your name, but this seemed more bizarre than she could imagine.

  "So, he doesn't even allow the village to have a name?" Sara asked.

  "They do not need one.” Dov explained, “As I said, most of these people will never leave this place except to go to the manor in service to the Lord, and then, if they are lucky, come back here, if they return at all. They cannot go to other villages. They do not know of any other villages. They do not even know what nation they are a part of."

  They were getting closer, so Sara thought she might ask, "So where are we?"

  Dov looked over. "I told you, do not ask those questions.” Dov shook his head. “No. Even now. It is not safe. And you need to stop thinking about things like this, or at least asking about them, at least in these lands." He stopped and looked at her, which caused Sara to stop.

  Dov looked her up and down, then said, "As I said, I can see by your stance that you are not planning to stay here. I can also see it in your eyes. You have to go someplace else."

  Sara nodded. "Yes, I have a place I need to return to that is good and”

  Dov cut her off, “Admirable, but do not say anything. The lord of this area is very paranoid. And any word that someone is traveling through this area and may have other places that they need to go to, or" Dov looked over her again. "That they might have some noble blood might interest him, and that would not be safe for that person. Do you understand?”

  Sara stared into the face of the tinker. He was wiser than she expected.

  Sara nodded and said, “Don’t let anyone know." Then took a step back and bowed.

  Dov shook his head. "Now that kind of action will let everyone know you are a noble. You need to be more careful, girl. You need to be far more careful. Sari."

  The way the name rolled off his tongue reminded Sara of something that she couldn't quite touch. But she heard the sound of someone hollering in the village. And Dov at once lifted his hood and turned toward the village.

  "Come, come.” Dov insisted, “I will introduce you to Abba-Avi. He will take care of you. Trust him, he is a good man. I know him well. He is one of my most honest customers."

  "You're a tinkerer or a merchant?" Sara asked.

  "Both, of a sort.” Dov shrugged, “Without coins, these folks can only trade in items that they have extra of. So, I get eggs, chickens, and other such stuff. Occasionally, a good loaf of bread.” Dov licked his lips, “Abba-Avi's oldest daughter, Bat-Avi, makes some of the best bread you will ever have. Tell her I said so."

  Dov laughed. "Now, move. I am already late in getting to the next town." He picked up speed, and Sara walked faster to keep up with the man.