The Weapon Bearer (Book 1) by Aaron Thomas Page B

give you a tenth of the winnings.” The fletcher turned his head and rubbed his chin while looking at Bowie, then smiled a toothy smile.
    “I do know to rouse him from his bed this morn it will have to be a pretty hefty bet milord. I can’t rouse him for less than probably twenty crowns.”
    “So make the bet at twenty crowns, best of three arrows each. I will be back at first light with crowns in hand.” The fletcher scrambled into his shop and out came an yawning apprentice and sent him running off through the street still buttoning his shirt. Bowie made the arrows the winner shot with, and he personally had one of the best made bows in the realm. He had as good a chance as any to beat this archer, and this was a far better gamble than dice or cards. However, Bowie had other needs to attend to this morning. He moved down the road with a grin on his face at solving a problem they had, money.
    The city streets were full of bottles and mugs dropped by their owners. A few of the owners still lay in the gutters sleeping off a night of festivities. He thought more toughs ought to be out running them off but was sure they were in the same condition. He walked past a city guard patrolling the streets and tipped his black hat. “Know where I can buy a horse?” The guard pointed and continued on his patrol. Bowie tipped his hat to the guard’s back anyway, partly out of sarcasm, partly out of his upbringing.
    He found the stables by the smell of horses and sounds of shovels on the ground. The groomsmen were already up brushing and feeding the horses. Daniel had always told them, if you find a stable with groomsmen brushing and mucking stalls before first light you would likely find healthy and disease free animals. Bowie walked along the shoots and looked at each horse until a stable boy eyed him looking and ran off to find the stable master. A burly man approached and straightened his fine jacket over his wool shirt, then continued picking the remains of his morning meal from his teeth. “Looking for a lost friend young lord?” he said offhandedly.
    “I have need of making some new ones today. I am in need of two horses for traveling a great distance. Do you have any that can be made ready before first light?”
    “Moss, fetch me the piebald and the skewbald. I have two for sale, my lord. They will cost two gold crowns each, but they are worth the price.”
    “Let me look them over first sir, and I’ll see if they are indeed worth two gold each. Of course I’ll need saddles, good ones, feedbags, water skins, tack also. I’ll be making you an offer on the whole lot.” He nodded in agreement. Bowie had lords and travelers look over his arrows and strings, testing them, and breaking them to find their worth. They always set their own price and it showed that they knew their business. If they didn’t ask to test them he would usually get more than they were worth, just by using his last name as a guarantee of the fine craftsmanship. He hoped that in the past the stable owner had the same experiences so that he didn’t end up overpaying for the horses. Bowie walked out to the training ring and watched the stable hands walk the two horses around. Bowie made sounds as if he was considering their walk. He ran his hands over their flanks and checked their teeth, and lifted the feet to check the shoes. He made sounds of approval in some spots and disapproval in others. “These will definitely get me to the King, but I would have hoped for a larger animal. These seem to be short on strength for endurance. If these are the best two you have I’ll take them for one and a quarter each.” The owner started to object but Bowie cut him off, “I’ll give you another one and a half for the saddles, equipment, and tack. In addition, I’ll be sure to stop in here if I am ever in need of more horses, mind you I live in Humbridge. In my travels if I am asked about either horse I’ll tell them of your establishment and how honest